6,1?. 2-2. 

LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Secti 


„  m 


TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 
IN  EAST  AFRICA 


CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


C.  F.  CLAY,  Manager 
LONDON  :  FETTER  LANE,  E.C.  4 


NEW  YORK  :  THE  MACMILLAN  CO. 
BOMBAY  \ 

CALCUTTA  L  MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Ltd. 
MADRAS  j 

TORONTO  :  THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF 

CANADA,  Ltd. 
TOKYO :  MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2015 

https://archive.org/details/twentyfiveyearsiOOrosc 


DAUDI  CHWA,  KABAKA  (KING)  OF  UGANDA  WITH 
HIS  MOTOR  CAR 


TWENTY- FIVE  YEARS 
IN  EAST  AFRICA 

By  (*    J  UN  37  1922  *] 

JOHN  ROSCOE,  M.A. 


RECTOR  OF  OVINGTON,  NORFOLK, 
FORMERLY  OF  THE  CHURCH  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 


CAMBRIDGE 
AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
i  9  2  I 


TO 


MY  WIFE 

WHO  SHARED  WITH  ME  THE  EARLY  TRIALS  AND 
DANGERS  OF  LIFE  IN  EAST  AFRICA  AND  WHO 
LATER  UNDERTOOK  ALL  THE  DUTIES  AND  RE- 
SPONSIBILITIES OF  OUR  HOME  AND  FAMILY, 
LEAVING  ME  FREE  TO  CARRY  ON  THIS  WORK. 


PREFACE 


THIS  little  work  was  prepared  with  several  objects  in  view. 
In  the  first  place,  I  have  endeavoured  to  bring  together 
and  set  down  in  a  popular  form  some  facts  of  anthropological 
and  social  interest  relating  to  Central  Africa,  which  otherwise, 
owing  to  the  rapid  spread  of  civilization,  might  soon  be  lost 
for  ever.  At  the  same  time  it  occurred  to  me  that,  in  view  of 
the  great  changes  which  have  taken  place  since  the  British 
Government  took  over  the  Uganda  Protectorate,  some  account 
of  life  in  Africa  in  the  early  days  of  European  settlement  might 
be  welcome  both  to  my  own  friends  and  to  others  interested 
in  that  Continent.  As  a  rule,  companions  and  colleagues  who 
might  not  perhaps  care  to  be  referred  to  by  name  have  not 
been  so  mentioned ;  but  there  are  some  whose  activities  are  so 
inseparably  woven  into  the  life  and  history  of  the  time  that 
it  has  been  impossible  to  follow  such  a  rule  in  all  cases.  The 
reader  must  not,  however,  forget  that  the  writer  was  only  one 
of  a  band,  and  that  all  that  he  experienced  and  endured  was 
shared  by  others,  every  one  of  whom  went  out  prepared  to 
face  discomfort  and  danger,  and  even  to  lay  down  his  life  in 
a  far  country.  Another  object  has  been  to  give  to  those  who 
may  possibly  settle  in  our  East  African  Protectorate  a  timely 
word  of  guidance  and  even,  perhaps,  of  warning. 

Again,  readers  will  find  a  certain  amount  of  criticism  of 
Government  action  and  also  of  missionary  methods.  This  is 
intended  in  no  unfriendly  spirit ;  my  aim  has  been  to  point  out 
how  absolutely  essential  it  is  that  those  who  desire  to  govern 
or  assist  primitive  peoples  should  be  sufficiently  versed  in  the 
science  of  anthropology  to  be  able  to  regard  them,  their  cus- 
toms, and  their  religion  with  intelligent  sympathy.  With  the 
vastly  increased  facilities  for  studying  the  subject  there  is 
now  no  reason  why  any  one  should  undertake  work  in  such 
a  country  without  some  previous  study  of  anthropology. 

The  anthropologist  will  probably  find  this  work  unsatisfac- 
tory and  scrappy,  as  many  details  have  already  been  published 


viii 


PREFACE 


in  my  other  books,  The  Baganda  (Macmillan  and  Company) 
and  The  Northern  Bantu  (Cambridge  University  Press) .  Here, 
however,  certain  theories  and  suggestions  which  may  be  of 
interest  are  put  forward,  and  I  have  recorded  various  in- 
cidents worthy  of  attention  which  befell  me  in  the  early  days 
before  I  seriously  took  up  the  study  of  anthropology,  and 
which  were  simply  jotted  down  in  my  ordinary  diaries  of 
passing  events.  These  incidents  are  mostly  connected  with 
the  country  through  which  I  passed  from  the  coast  to  Lake 
Victoria,  and  may  be  of  interest  and  value  to  others  following 
this  route  under  present  conditions. 

There  is,  however,  an  extensive  field  of  enquiry  which  is 
not  touched  upon  in  this  book.  I  have  lately  been  enabled 
to  enquire  far  more  fully  into  various  matters  of  the  utmost 
anthropological  importance  through  the  generosity  of  Sir  Peter 
Mackie  seconded  by  the  interest  and  assistance  of  the  Royal 
Society.  The  information  here  given  in  the  shape  of  a  popular 
account  of  travel  and  enquiry  forms,  therefore,  the  prelude  to 
the  fuller  and  more  scientific  work  which  I  have  thus  been 
enabled  to  do. 

It  is  now  a  good  many  years  since  I  collected  the  material 
which  this  book  contains,  and  I  had  just  made  up  my  mind  to 
put  it  into  shape  and  enlarge  it,  when  I  was  asked  to  revisit 
Africa  as  leader  of  the  Mackie  Ethnological  Expedition.  On 
my  departure  I  sent  the  manuscript  to  a  friend  for  safe  keeping 
and  for  publication  in  the  event  of  my  not  returning.  There 
was,  however,  some  misunderstanding,  and  on  my  arrival  in 
England  I  found  the  book  already  in  the  printer's  hands.  I 
must,  therefore,  ask  my  readers  to  look  upon  the  book  as  a 
rough  draft  of  what  I  intended  it  to  be.  There  is  plenty  of 
material  in  it  of  both  scientific  and  human  interest,  but  style 
and  arrangement  could  have  been  greatly  improved  had  there 
been  a  possibility  of  revising  the  manuscript  before  it  went 
into  print. 

As  the  material  which  I  left  behind  me  was  in  a  very  rough 
state,  the  revision  of  the  proofs  has  been  a  task  of  considerable 
magnitude,  and  I  am  very  deeply  indebted  to  the  Rev.  G.  A. 


PREFACE 


ix 


Schneider,  Librarian  of  Gonville  and  Caius  College,  Cam- 
bridge, who  has  given  much  of  his  valuable  time  and  unsparing 
energy  and  care  to  this  difficult  work,  and  to  the  Rev.  W.  A. 
Cox,  Fellow  of  St  John's  College,  Cambridge,  who  has  been 
always  ready  to  give  advice  and  help.  The  photographs  used 
in  the  volume  have  to  a  large  extent  been  supplied  to  me  by 
friends,  and  I  must  here  express  my  grateful  thanks  to  these 
donors,  and  especially  to  the  late  Rev.  E.  Millar,  the  Rev. 
R.  H.  Leakay,  and  Mr  C.  V.  Hattersley. 

J.  R. 

Ovington  Rectory, 
Thetford. 

21  May  192 1. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

Experiences  on  the  Voyage — A  storm — Zanzibar — Preparations  for 
the  journey — Native  porters — Camp  life — The  traveller's  difficulties 
— Experiences  on  the  march — Crossing  unbridged  rivers — Arabs  and 
the  slave  trade — Hints  for  travellers     .        .        .         pages  1-15 

CHAPTER  II 

Native  dwellings  in  Unyamwezi  and  Usagara — The  Wamegi — In- 
dustries— Food — Marriage  customs — Government — Initiation  cere- 
monies— Women's  work — Treatment  in  sickness  and  burial  customs — 
Rain-making — Clothing  and  ornaments — Tribal  wars — Morality — 
Other  tribes  of  Usagara — The  "gentle  Masai"       .        .  16-32 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Masai — Terror  of  the  Swahili  porters — Arab  and  native  rising 
against  the  Germans — Murder  of  a  missionary — Swahili  escort  to  the 
coast — Prisoners  in  the  Arab  fort — A  serious  situation — The  Germans 
and  our  ransom — Illness  and  return  to  England     .        .  32-41 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Ugogo  plains — Difficulties  of  the  march — The  Wagogo,  their 
houses  and  lives — Road  and  water  taxes — Further  characteristics  of 
the  Swahili  porter — Wagogo  highwaymen — The  waterless  plains — 
Effects  of  cattle  plague — The  Wanyamwezi  and  Wasakuma  tribes — 
The  Watuturu  partly  nomadic — Lake  Victoria  Nyanza  .  42-56 

CHAPTER  V 

Lake  Victoria — The  rival  kings — The  Ripon  Falls — The  Island  tribes 
— Canoes — Trading — Travelling  by  canoe — Uganda — Native  hos- 
pitality— A  Lake  storm — Canoe  versus  steamer — Sleeping  sickness — 
Heroism  of  native  Christians       .....  57-74 

CHAPTER  VI 

Effect  of  the  railway — Uganda — Social  conditions  and  culture — 
Physical  features — Houses  and  roads — Nubian  and  Arab  influences — 
Traces  of  early  invaders — Marriage  laws — Burial  customs — Origin  of 
the  kings — Associations  with  early  Egypt — Ownership  of  land — The 
royal  family — The  royal  residence — The  army — Survival  of  the  fittest 
— Government — Taxation — Marriage — Ivory — Making  of  bark-cloth 

75-100 


xii 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VII 

Missionaries  in  Uganda — King  Mutesa — The  Arabs  and  the  mission- 
aries— Difficulties  under  King  Mwanga — Arab  rebellion — Islamic 
persecution — Return  of  Mwanga — War  between  French  and  British — 
Introduction  of  Sudanese  troops — Mwanga  and  the  Mission  stores — 
Character  of  Mwanga — A  royal  visit     .        .        .        .  101-121 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Return  of  Islamic  Baganda — Peace  and  Prosperity — Sir  Gerald  Portal 
and  the  formation  of  the  British  East  African  Protectorate — Native 
Christians  and  their  slaves — Mutiny  of  Sudanese  troops — Defeat  by 
loyal  Baganda — Re-distribution  of  land        .        .        .  122-133 


CHAPTER  IX 

Baganda  beliefs  and  ceremonies — Deities  of  the  Lubare  worship — 
The  Hero  Gods — Religious  festivals — Relics  and  fetishes — Priests  and 
mediums — Burial  customs  and  ghost  worship — Nature  gods — Means 
of  communication — Fetishes — Medicine-men  and  surgery — Deifica- 
tion of  the  king — His  ghostly  retinue — Human  sacrifices — Ceremonial 
drums — The  god  of  plague — The  power  of  magic    .        .  134-160 

CHAPTER  X 

Sociology  of  the  Baganda — Clan  membership — Blood  relationships — 
Totemism — Communism  in  offspring — Marriage  customs  and  morality 
— The  king's  wives — Evil  results  of  enforced  monogamy — Ability  and 
courage  of  natives — Sir  Apolo  Kagwa's  improvements — The  native 
hospital — Second  rising  of  the  Sudanese — Mwanga  joins  the  rebels — 
Death  of  Mwanga  161-178 


CHAPTER  XI 

Education  and  life  of  the  women — Native  government — Clothing — 
Duties  of  a  chief — Hospitality — Trial  and  Punishment — Thieves  and 
their  methods — Chiefs'  dwellings — Road-making  and  currency — Re- 
adjustment of  chieftainships  by  British  Government      .  179-194 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  journey  to  Toro — Baganda  porters — Swamps  and  bridges — Water 
spirits — Incidents  with  elephants — Toro — The  king — The  inhabitants 
■ — Cannibals  in  the  Semliki  valley — Salt-making — Hot  springs — Pigmy 
tribes — The  Barega — The  Banyoro — Morality — Agricultural  clans — 
Herdsmen  and  lions — The  River  Semliki       .        .        .  195-206 


CONTENTS 


xiii 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Journey  to  Ankole — The  Bahima  and  Baheru — The  king  and  his  chiefs 
— Baganda  chiefs — The  king's  courts — Polygamy  and  polyandry — 
Morals  of  the  women — Death  of  the  king — Royal  lions — Sacred 
leopards  and  pythons — Inheritance — Herdsmen — Cow  kraals — Koki 
— Pastoral  and  agricultural  people — The  king's  successor — Iron 
smelters — Budu — Bark-cloth  and  basket-making   .        .  207-222 

CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Mpologoma  River — Bantu  Lake  dwellers — Lake  and  river  huts — 
The  Bateso,  a  Nilotic  people — Bateso  huts  and  customs — Ornaments 
— Present  conditions — Musoga  robbers — Morality  .        .  223-233 

CHAPTER  XV 

Wanderings  among  the  Bageshu — The  Baganda  as  British  agents — 
Caves  on  Mount  Elgon — Ceremonial  cannibalism — Initiation  cere- 
monies— Religion  and  magic — The  use  of  the  caves — Clan  hatreds — 
Peace  for  the  beer-drinking — Journey  to  Busoga — Scenes  of  famine — 
Causes  of  the  famine — Errors  in  British  government — Baganda  rule 
— Busoga  customs — Luba  and  the  murder  of  Bishop  Hannington — 
Robbers  and  their  methods         .....  234-249 

CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Banyoro — The  agricultural  serfs — Encroachments  of  Baganda 
— Conquest  of  Bunyoro — Kings  of  Bunyoro — Ghosts— Accession  of  a 
new  king— Milk  customs — The  problem  of  labour — Morality — Bunyoro 
as  a  cattle-rearing  district — Life  of  the  people — Government — Salt- 
making    250-261 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Nilotic  Kavirondo — Worship  and  beliefs — Difficulties  of  spreading 
civilization — The  Nandi  and  the  Masai — Nairobi — Climate  and  pros- 
pects— The  Wakikuyu  and  Wakamba — Early  train  journeys — Mom- 
basa        .   262-276 


INDEX  ....  277 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE 

I  Daudi  Chwa  Kabaka  (king)  of  Uganda  frontispiece 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

II  Shields  and  spears  from  Buganda,  Busoga,        .        .  16 
Bukedi,  Semliki  Valley  and  Kavirondo 

III  Woman  of  Uganda  in  bark-cloth  dress  with  her  child  17 
Baby  with  long  hair  before  having  been  admitted  into 

the  clan 

IV  Graves  of  Bishop  Parker  and  A.  Mackay  at  Busam- 


biro,  Lake  Victoria       ....        .  .48 

Thatched  fetish  rock  in  Busoga 

V  Uganda  fetishes      .......  49 

Uganda  fetish  necklet 

VI  Buffalo  shot  by  F.  A.  Knowles,  Esq.         ...  80 

VII  Ankole  grain  store  .       .        .        .        ...  81 

Ankole  ghost  shrine 

VIII  Waist  band  and  necklets  of  Uganda  girls  .       .  .112 
Elephant  hair  necklets  as  worn  by  cow-keeping  people 

IX  Natives  of  Mt.  Elgon       .        .        .        .       .  .113 

Lady  embarking  in  her  canoe 


Disembarking  from  canoes  on  Lake  Victoria 

X  Site  where  human  sacrifices  were  offered  in  Uganda  .  144 
Hastily  built  hut  for  servants'  shelter  for  night 

XI  The  Mukama  (king)  of  Bunyoro  with  his  wife  and 


daughters    ........  145 

XII  Masai  women  in  ordinary  cow-skin  dress    .       .  .146 
Uganda  drummers 

XIII  The  court  house  of  the  King  of  Uganda     .        .  .147 
Uganda  children  having  a  meal 
Native  of  Mt.  Elgon  in  full  dress 


xvi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  TO  FACE  PAGE 

XIV  Uganda  potters  at  work  .        .        .        .       .  .208 

Making  bark -cloth  in  Uganda 

XV  Counting  cowry-shells,  the  original  currency  of  Uganda  209 
Extracting  salt  from  sand,  Bunyoro 

XVI  Husband,  wife  and  child  in  Uganda  ....  240 
Child  carrying  water  in  gourd 

XVII  Ghost  shrine  on  Lake  Kioga     .        .        .       .  .241 
Homestead  with  canoe  and  ghost  shrine,  Lake  Kioga 

XVIII  House  construction  in  Uganda         .        .       .  .272 
Dug-out  canoe  in  process  of  being  built 

XIX  Ankole  pastoral  huts      ......  273 

European's  house  and  garden 


MAP 

The  Country  around  Lake  Victoria   .    between  pp.  32  &  33 


CHAPTER  I 


EXPERIENCES  IN  TRAVELLING— NATIVE  PORTERS- 
AMUSING  INCIDENTS  AND  MISTAKES— LIFE  ON  A 
LONELY  HILL  MISSION  STATION— SLAVE  TRADE 

TO  understand  the  subject  of  this  chapter  aright  the 
reader  must  go  back  in  thought  some  thirty  years  to 
what  was  a  much  more  primitive  condition  in  East  Africa 
than  that  of  the  present  time.  Now,  even  though  the  man 
accustomed  to  modern  English  life  may  state  the  contrary, 
or  the  "globe  trotter"  make  unfriendly  remarks  about  the 
uncivilised  native  and  call  him  a  "dirty  nigger,"  the  East 
African  on  the  coast  is  comparatively  civilised  and  has 
shrewd  ideas  as  to  what  he  may  or  may  not  do  in  the  presence 
of  a  white  man.  This  part  of  the  story  has  to  do  with  the 
state  of  affairs  as  they  were  in  the  year  1884,  when  Sayid 
Bargash  still  lived  and  ruled  in  Zanzibar,  and  Sir  John 
Kirk,  H.B.M.'s  Consul,  was  judiciously  gaining  an  influence 
over  the  Arab  and  African  mind,  which  was  to  have  such 
far  reaching  effects.  It  was  probably  due  to  Livingstone 
that  the  Consul  went  to  Zanzibar,  and  also  that  other  Euro- 
peans began  to  travel  into  the  interior  of  Africa  and  open 
up  the  country,  and  that  slavery  was  rigorously  attacked; 
yet  England  none  the  less  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Sir 
John  Kirk  for  the  noble  work  which  he  did  in  Zanzibar. 
By  his  wise  regime  he  laid  the  foundations  for  British  rule, 
and  by  his  gentle,  attractive  manner  he  won  the  Arabs  so 
that  they  believed  in  him,  relied  upon  the  word  of  an 
Englishman,  and  trusted  the  British  nation. 

The  first  journey  by  ship  which  a  man  takes  is  always  full 
of  interest,  and  as  it  was  deemed  advisable  in  our  case  that 
we  young  missionaries  should  sail  to  Zanzibar  round  the  Cape, 
because  of  the  heat  in  the  Red  Sea  at  this  season,  the 
lengthened  journey  added  considerably  to  our  interest  and 
our  geographical  knowledge,  affording  splendid  opportunities 


2 


A  SEA  VOYAGE 


[CH. 


for  visiting  many  ports  along  the  east  coast  of  Africa.  On 
a  first  voyage  there  are  many  things  on  board  ship  to  be 
investigated,  from  the  captain's  bridge  to  the  stoke-hole,  and 
new  experiences  have  to  be  gained,  even  to  a  distant  bowing 
acquaintance  with  sea-sickness.  I  say  a  bowing  acquaintance, 
because  in  my  own  case  the  acquaintance  was  broken  off  through 
the  timely  though  unintentional  intervention  of  a  fellow  pas- 
senger. It  happened  thus :  we  had  proceeded  very  comfortably 
from  London  Docks  down  the  Channel  in  the  R.M.S.  Drum- 
mond  Castle  and  had  entered  the  Bay  of  Biscay  which,  though 
said  to  be  calm,  was  rough  enough  to  give  the  ship  an  uneasy 
motion,  at  least  for  a  "landsman."  When  dinner  was  an- 
nounced, we  bravely  took  our  seats  and  began  well,  but  one 
or  two  of  us  found  it  necessary  to  leave  the  table  hurriedly 
as  though  something  had  been  forgotten,  and  the  writer  was 
one  of  those  who  made  a  rapid  exit  from  the  saloon  to  his 
cabin  with  most  uncomfortable  feelings,  though  fortunately 
they  were  not  too  strong  to  make  him  forget  his  desire  to 
hide  the  cause  of  his  speedy  flight.  Such  indisposition  is  so 
often  considered  a  weakness,  and  is  so  often  a  theme  for 
amusement,  that  most  men  strive  to  keep  their  fellow  pas- 
sengers ignorant  of  their  condition.  To  conceal  any  sign  of 
sickness  when  in  his  cabin,  the  poor  sufferer  popped  his  head 
out  of  the  open  port  hole,  when  to  his  surprise  he  saw  his 
neighbour  pursuing  the  same  course  with  great  success; 
whereupon  the  ludicrous  side  of  the  picture  presented  itself 
to  him  so  forcibly,  that  he  laughed  outright,  regained  his  equi- 
librium, and  returned  to  dinner  quite  cured  from  sea-sickness. 

In  due  time  we  sighted  Table  Mountain  and  entered 
Cape  Town,  which  was  to  end  the  first  stage  of  the  journey. 
We  had  on  that  pleasant  voyage  the  games,  concerts,  and 
amusements  common  to  sea  voyages  and  very  little  serious 
reading.  From  Cape  Town  to  Zanzibar  there  was  the  ex- 
perience of  a  small  coasting  vessel  with  frequent  calls  at  the 
ports  along  the  coast,  and  change  of  ship  took  place  at 
Mozambique  to  a  third  vessel,  The  Bhagdad  of  the  B.I. S.N. 
Co.,  a  comfortable  boat  with  a  genial  officer  in  command, 


I] 


EXPERIENCES  OF  A  STORM 


3 


Captain  Frohawk.  My  next  experience  in  the  same  ship  with 
the  same  captain  some  years  later  travelling  from  Aden  to 
Zanzibar,  was  not  favoured  with  the  same  placid  sea,  but 
was  in  the  teeth  of  the  monsoon ;  fortunately  on  this  occasion 
there  were  only  three  passengers  on  board,  two  of  whom  kept 
their  beds  for  several  days,  deeming  bed  safer  and  more 
comfortable  than  to  be  thrown  about  on  deck  or  in  the 
saloon.  The  experience  gained  was  useful ;  it  gave  us  an  idea 
of  some  of  the  difficulties  which  seamen  meet  with  in  rough 
weather.  For  a  few  days  shoes  and  socks  were  abandoned, 
because  water  was  to  be  found  everywhere ;  even  in  the  saloon, 
which  wore  the  appearance  of  a  house  undergoing  spring 
cleaning,  there  was,  in  addition  to  the  general  discomfort  of 
disordered  furniture,  a  plentiful  supply  of  water  which  was 
being  churned  to  froth  by  the  pitching  and  rolling  of  the  boat. 
To  take  a  seat  in  another  part  of  the  saloon,  or  to  walk  about, 
it  was  necessary  to  hold  on  to  some  object  that  was  a  fixture, 
until  the  ship  assumed  a  fairly  level  position,  and  then  to 
dart  forward  to  another  fixed  object,  and  so  on  until  the 
destination  was  reached.  How  the  cook  managed  to  cook, 
and  how  stewards  managed  to  carry  food  to  the  saloon,  still 
remains  a  mystery.  During  those  days  the  captain  and  the 
chief  officer  were  the  only  persons  beside  the  writer  who  came 
to  table,  and  we  three  had  our  food  served  in  basins,  which 
we  held,  because  nothing  could  remain  on  the  table  owing  to 
the  rolling  of  the  ship  and  the  list  which  she  frequently  had. 
The  captain  was  most  kind  and  had  a  chair  lashed  for  me 
under  the  lee  of  the  deck-house,  where  only  an  occasional 
wave  broke  over  it,  and  where  it  was  possible  to  get  fresh 
air  and  also  to  gaze  on  the  wonderful  seas  and  read  a  little. 

But  I  must  return  from  this  digression  to  Zanzibar  and 
give  an  account  of  my  arrival  there.  It  has  been  said  of 
that  Island  that  there  is  only  one  good  view  to  be  had  of  it, 
which  is  obtained  when  you  are  finally  leaving  it.  Zanzibar, 
however,  has  its  good  points,  and  for  me  it  has  pleasant 
memories,  though  there  is  much  to  be  said  against  the  trying 
heat,  which  is  as  great  by  night  as  by  day,  and  which  prevents 


4  AT  ZANZIBAR  PREPARING  FOR  THE  JOURNEY  [ch. 


most  people  from  obtaining  good  refreshing  sleep.  Beside 
the  discomfort  of  the  great  heat,  there  are  the  mosquitoes 
which  hum  round  your  bed  during  the  night,  seeking  a  place 
of  entrance  through  the  mosquito  net  and  making  you  pay 
heavily,  should  they  discover  any  hole  or  inlet,  or  should 
you  throw  out  a  hand  or  a  foot  against  the  net,  where  they 
can  settle  and  gorge  themselves.  To  compensate  for  the  evils 
of  the  place,  there  was  in  my  own  case  a  warm  welcome  and 
kindness  shown  by  all  the  resident  English,  and  especially 
by  the  members  of  the  Universities'  Mission,  who  seemed 
to  consider  nothing  too  great  a  trouble,  if  only  they  might 
add  to  the  comfort  and  enjoyment  of  the  visitor,  and  make 
his  visit  pleasant  and  happy. 

In  those  early  days,  when  the  success  and  comfort  of 
a  traveller  going  into  the  interior  of  Africa  depended  largely 
upon  the  health,  strength,  and  uprightness  of  the  porter,  much 
time  had  to  be  devoted  to  securing  the  necessary  human 
burden  bearer,  who  was  the  sole  means  of  transport ;  further 
time  had  to  be  spent  in  looking  over  the  goods  from  England, 
and  arranging  them,  so  that  the  cases  or  packages  did  not 
exceed  sixty-five  pounds  weight  apiece.  The  presence  of  kind 
friends  in  Zanzibar  was  indeed  a  boon,  and  from  them  I  ob- 
tained much  valuable  advice  concerning  the  treatment  of 
natives  and  many  hints  as  to  travel.  Furthermore  barter 
goods  such  as  unbleached  calico,  prints,  brass-,  copper-,  and 
iron-wire,  beads  of  various  kinds,  with  other  articles  for 
currency  to  be  used  to  obtain  food  on  the  journey  instead  of 
money,  had  to  be  purchased  in  Zanzibar.  When  the  tedious 
process  of  selecting  and  engaging  porters  was  completed,  they 
had  to  undergo  a  medical  examination,  which  often  reduced 
their  number  considerably,  because  many  of  them  were  unfit 
for  the  hardships  of  a  journey;  and  then  fresh  men  had  to  be 
sought  to  fill  the  gaps  of  those  rejected,  which  again  caused 
delay.  When  the  men  were  finally  engaged  and  their  agree- 
ment had  been  signed,  there  came  the  trying  task  of  satisfying 
them  in  regard  to  advance  pay,  because,  though  their  wages 
were  fixed  at  a  given  rate  per  month,  yet  each  man  tried  to 


I] 


THE  AFRICAN  PORTER 


5 


secure  as  much  as  possible  before  he  commenced  his  work, 
and  would  not  consent  to  move  without  at  least  one  month's 
pay  in  advance.  Crowds  of  people  usually  awaited  these  men 
when  they  were  being  paid  and  made  great  demands  upon  the 
wages  they  received  and,  if  left  to  carry  out  their  avaricious 
schemes,  they  would  leave  the  porters  with  only  a  few  coppers. 
The  latter  had  therefore  to  be  guarded  and  kept  in  a  locked 
yard  after  they  were  paid,  until  they  could  be  marched  to 
the  beach  and  shipped  to  the  mainland,  the  point  from  which 
the  journey  was  to  begin.  If  these  precautions  were  neglected, 
the  unfortunate  men  were  left  without  money  to  purchase  the 
numerous  small  comforts  which  they  wished  to  take  with  them 
on  the  journey. 

Another  reason  we  had  for  guarding  and  quickly  shipping 
the  porters  off  to  the  mainland  was  to  ensure  their  fulfilling 
their  contract ;  because  if  allowed  their  freedom  in  Zanzibar, 
some  of  them  would  abscond  with  a  month's  pay,  or  stay 
so  long  with  their  friends  that  they  would  be  left  behind, 
and  thus  both  men  and  money  were  lost.  The  only  means 
of  crossing  to  the  mainland  was  by  dhow,  the  small  smelly 
craft  of  the  Arabs,  which  was  always  ready  to  be  hired  to 
ply  between  the  Island  of  Zanzibar  and  the  mainland. 
Under  favourable  circumstances  these  vessels  would  run  over 
in  four  hours,  but  if  the  wind  fell  or  was  contrary,  two  or 
three  days  might  elapse ;  a  traveller  related  that  he  once  took 
a  week  to  cross  and  suffered  considerable  discomfort  from 
want  of  provisions.  We  were  favoured  by  fortune,  and 
reached  Sadaani  on  the  mainland  before  it  was  dark,  though 
we  did  not  start  until  noon.  We  were  then  able  to  pitch  the 
tents  and  settle  down  outside  the  Arab  town,  which,  like 
most  Arab  towns  in  Africa,  was  very  dirty  and  an  un- 
desirable place  for  health  or  comfort.  This  was  my  first 
night  with  Africans,  severed  from  all  English  friends,  alone 
on  the  shore  of  the  "Dark  Continent."  There  were  all  kinds 
of  new  sounds  from  insects,  birds  and  animals,  which  called 
for  some  explanation  before  one  could  go  calmly  to  sleep. 
It  took  time  to  accustom  the  mind  to  them,  and  then  it  was 


() 


THE  FIRST  NIGHT  OF  CAMP  LIFE  [ch. 


not  easy  to  settle  down  to  sleep  in  the  tent,  especially  as  the 
porters  were  close  at  hand  sitting  round  their  fires  and  talking. 
After  a  time  the  hum  of  the  porters'  voices  died  down  as  one 
by  one  they  fell  asleep,  and  later  sleep  came  to  the  relief  of 
the  inexperienced  traveller,  and  the  camp  was  wrapped  in 
the  calm  of  slumber.  To  a  man  newly  arrived  from  England 
it  is  a  strange  sight  to  see  men  lie  down  on  the  hard  ground 
with  no  covering  beyond  their  scanty  loin-cloth  of  three  or 
four  yards  of  unbleached  calico,  with  no  roof  over  them  but 
the  sky,  and  no  other  protection  from  wild  animals  save  the 
embers  of  a  smouldering  fire  occasionally  drawn  together  as 
one  or  other  of  the  sleepers  pushed  the  logs  of  wood  into  the 
fire  and  caused  it  to  burst  into  flame.  Yet  these  men  sleep 
soundly  and  rise  as  fresh  as  though  they  had  passed  the  night 
on  the  most  comfortable  bed.  Experience  of  African  life 
teaches  the  traveller  that  there  is  no  real  hardship  in  spending 
the  night  in  such  a  manner,  his  sympathy  is  uncalled  for  and 
wasted.  The  Swahili  porter  is  as  a  rule  too  idle  to  build  any 
hut  or  covering  for  himself,  such  as  is  built  by  men  of  inland 
tribes  when  travelling,  and  should  a  shower  of  rain  catch  him 
by  night,  he  will  sit  and  shiver  over  his  fire  unless  he  can 
crawl  into  the  hut  of  some  more  energetic  fellow  porter. 

The  first  morning  of  a  journey  is  inevitably,  for  an  African 
traveller,  the  most  tiresome  of  all  the  days  of  his  journey; 
giving  out  loads  to  the  porters  is  trying  to  temper  and 
strength,  especially  because  each  man  wants  to  take  the 
lightest  and  most  convenient  package ;  and  unless  some  care 
and  thought  is  exercised,  the  weakest  men  will  be  pushed 
aside  to  the  last  and  left  with  the  heaviest  and  most  tiresome 
loads  to  carry,  while  the  strong  men  will  make  off  with  the 
lightest  and  nicest  burdens.  This  task  of  apportioning  loads 
requires  both  care  and  tact  in  order  to  assign  the  right  loads 
to  the  right  men;  another  cause  of  trouble  is  the  headman 
who  is  not  to  be  relied  upon,  because  he  usually  has  favourites 
among  the  porters  whom  he  will  seek  to  benefit.  There  is 
often  another  great  trial  awaiting  the  traveller  when  doling 
out  loads,  for  he  will  find  that  several  of  his  men  have 


MARCHING  EXPERIENCES 


7 


decamped  during  the  night,  and  that  he  is  left  with  a  scarcity 
of  porters1.  Local  men  have  to  be  employed,  and  high  prices 
paid  to  them,  in  order  to  have  the  loads  carried  on  for  the 
next  few  days,  until  some  of  the  loads  of  calico  goods  have 
been  distributed  for  the  purchase  of  food,  and  thus  some  of 
the  porters  have  been  set  free  to  carry  the  loads  of  the 
deserters.  In  most  cases  a  few  extra  men  are  engaged  before 
leaving  Zanzibar  to  meet  this  difficulty,  and  also  to  be  ready 
in  case  of  sickness  or  any  other  emergency,  and  these  may 
possibly  suffice  to  carry  on  any  excess  loads.  By  the  time 
these  trials  are  ended  and  everything  smoothed  out  for 
travelling,  the  sun  is  high  and  the  heat  has  become  excessive 
for  a  march  of  twelve  miles  to  the  next  camp,  but  since  a 
start  must  be  made,  if  only  of  a  few  miles,  in  order  to 
accustom  the  men  to  their  loads  and  to  get  them  away  from 
the  baneful  influences  of  the  coast,  a  short  march  is  under- 
taken. 

The  first  two  or  three  marches  test  the  physical  strength  and 
powers  of  endurance  of  the  new  and  inexperienced  traveller ; 
he  does  not  know  how  to  keep  his  men  together  in  single 
file,  nor  how  much  control  the  headman  ought  to  take ;  again 
the  narrow  uneven  path  with  its  concave  surface  is  trying 
to  walk  along,  it  is  in  some  respects  worse  than  walking  in  a 
furrow  of  a  ploughed  field.  The  hot  sun  tries  him,  and  he  does 
not  realise  how  beneficial  it  would  be  for  him  to  rest  by  the 
way  and  have  some  refreshment,  he  is  anxious  to  reach  his 
camping  ground  and  will  try  to  go  the  whole  way  with  the 
slowly  moving  porters  without  food  until  noon,  forgetful  that 
his  breakfast  was  hastily  swallowed  at  an  early  hour  and  is 
insufficient  for  a  long  morning's  march  in  tropical  heat.  As 
a  rule  he  soon  falls  in  with  the  regular  routine  of  life,  and 
begins  on  the  second  or  third  day  to  enjoy  the  marches  and 
finds  amusement  as  he  goes  along.  There  are  many  new 
interests  in  scenery,  birds,  and  flowers,  as  well  as  new  animal 

1  To  hunt  for  the  missing  men  in  the  nearest  village  is  to  waste  precious 
time,  and  it  seldom  happens  that  the  injured  traveller  obtains  redress, 
though  he  notifies  his  agent  of  the  desertions;  the  men  are  experts  in 
decamping  and  evade  capture. 


8 


AMUSEMENTS  BY  THE  ROAD  [ch. 


life,  with  here  and  there  glimpses  of  village  life,  methods  of 
cultivation,  and  a  thousand  and  one  things  to  keep  him  from 
being  dull  or  lonely,  even  though  he  has  no  companion 
beyond  the  natives  who  travel  with  him  and  carry  his  goods, 
whose  language  he  does  not  know.  His  boys  who  walk  with 
his  water  bottle  and  light  refreshment  will  entertain  him, 
and,  if  he  is  a  sportsman,  they  are  ready  with  his  gun  when 
game  appears. 

The  average  Swahili  porter  will  travel  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  miles  each  day  so  that,  by  starting  at  daybreak  and 
marching  in  the  cool  morning,  camp  is  reached  soon  after 
ten  o'clock,  and  the  day  can  be  given  to  any  pastime  which 
takes  the  fancy  of  the  traveller.  Some  men  like  to  give  the 
rest  of  their  day  to  hunting,  and  if  one  is  a  good  marksman, 
he  will  be  able  to  appeal  to  the  tenderest  part  of  the  Swahili 
porter  by  the  good  bag  he  brings  into  camp.  Other  men  may 
prefer  botany  or  the  collecting  of  butterflies  or  new  insects 
and  what  not.  Rivers,  if  they  are  in  flood,  afford  amusement 
and  also  scope  for  ingenuity  in  crossing  them;  some  rivers 
which  during  the  dry  season  are  either  dry  sandy  beds, 
or  at  most  small  streams  of  one  or  two  inches  deep,  rise 
rapidly  during  the  rains  and  assume  gigantic  proportions 
being  some  twenty  or  more  yards  wide,  with  a  deep  surging 
current  far  too  strong  for  the  strongest  expert  swimmer  to 
negotiate.  Such  streams  have  either  to  be  crossed,  or  the  men 
have  to  sit  on  the  bank  and  wait  until  the  waters  subside. 
Such  waiting  never  causes  the  porter  any  anxiety  if  he  has 
food,  on  the  contrary,  he  will  patiently  sit  for  a  week  or  longer 
and  exhibit  no  sign  of  weariness.  Possibly  a  temporary  bridge 
can  be  thrown  over  the  river  by  felling  a  tall  tree  on  the  bank 
so  that  it  falls  with  its  branches  resting  on  the  opposite 
bank ;  the  upper  branches  can  then  be  lopped,  and  a  passage 
made  for  the  porters  to  walk  over;  sometimes  a  rope  bridge 
has  to  be  made  from  a  tree  on  one  bank  to  another  tree 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river1.  As  a  rule  the  Zanzibar 

1  Creepers  suitable  for  ropes  are  well  known  to  the  natives  and  ar 
invariably  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  rivers. 


I]  CROSSING  UNBRIDGED  RIVERS  9 


porter  is  competent  to  deal  with  such  difficulties  and  soon 
extemporises  means  for  crossing  a  river  if  he  wishes  to  move 
on;  the  chief  difficulty  is  to  create  the  desire  to  proceed.  A 
creeper  or  rope  bridge  is  a  favourite  method  for  spanning 
large  rivers  and  when  once  made  it  is  kept  in  repair  by  the 
people  living  in  the  district,  who  find  it  useful  for  crossing 
near  their  homes  instead  of  making  a  round  of  some  miles 
by  a  ford.  Such  a  bridge  consists  of  three  or  four  strong 
creepers  upon  which  to  walk;  these  are  securely  fastened  to 
stout  trees  on  each  bank,  and  then  side  ropes  to  form  hand 
rails  on  either  side  are  secured  to  the  main  creepers  and  so 
are  kept  in  position. 

The  Zanzibar  porter  or,  as  he  is  commonly  called,  the 
"Swahili  porter,"  is  of  mixed  nationality;  the  race  of  the 
so-called  Swahili  is  most  cosmopolitan;  the  men  belong  to 
all  tribes  and  nations  to  which  the  Arab  slave-trader  has  in 
time  past  had  access.  Where  the  Arab  could  with  safety 
penetrate,  he  raided  towns  and  villages,  the  results  of  his 
raids  being  the  carrying  off  of  the  inhabitants  as  slaves,  male 
and  female.  The  porter  is  often  a  son  of  such  slaves  or  he  may 
be  the  original  slave;  he  is  usually  versed  in  all  the  vices 
and  cunning  of  his  master,  and  shows  all  his  obsequiousness 
when  he  thinks  this  characteristic  to  be  profitable.  The 
Arab  slave-trader  has  been  on  the  coast  of  Africa  for  many 
years;  it  is  indeed  probable  that  he  arrived  before  the  Portu- 
guese, though  the  latter  has  left  traces  of  very  early  residence, 
such  as  may  be  seen  in  the  old  fort  of  Mombasa,  with  its 
stone  ruins  and  carefully  carved  staircase  in  the  rocky  cliff 
affording  a  covered  passage  down  to  a  boat  on  the  beach 
below,  or  the  Mozambique  forts  and  other  ruins  on  the  east 
coast.  Before  these  early  European  navigators  found  their 
way  along  the  east  coast,  the  rude  Arab  dhows  are  said  to 
have  been  plying  to  and  fro,  carrying  their  human  freights  of 
slaves  to  various  Arabian  market  places.  Slaves  were  taken 
from  the  mainland  to  Zanzibar,  where  a  slave  market  was 
established  at  an  early  date;  from  that  market  they  were 
carried  by  dhow  to  different  ports  of  Arabia,  often  undergoing 


10 


ARAB  SLAVE  TRADE 


[CH. 


terrible  experiences  on  the  voyage.  In  later  days  when  the 
British  appeared  in  East  Africa,  the  Arab  had  established 
himself  firmly  in  Zanzibar  as  his  headquarters,  while  at 
the  most  favourable  points  along  the  east  coast  important 
Arab  chiefs  were  settled,  who  acknowledged  the  suzerainty 
of  the  Arab  sultan  in  Zanzibar.  Slave  markets  were  common 
in  most  of  these  Arab  towns,  where  men,  women,  and  children, 
were  exposed  for  sale,  as  each  expedition  returned  from  the 
interior. 

Judged  from  our  Western  standard,  the  mode  of  treating 
these  unfortunate  slaves  was  revolting,  diabolical,  and  in- 
human. The  Arab  who  engaged  in  such  traffic  soon  lost  the 
small  amount  of  feeling  or  pity  which  he  ever  possessed,  and 
regarded  his  human  prey  as  personal  chattels ;  hence  his  only 
object  in  showing  mercy  was  in  order  to  carry  his  victims  alive 
and  in  as  good  a  condition  as  possible  to  market,  in  order  to 
secure  better  prices  for  them.  These  slaves  when  sold  at  the 
coast  were  destined  to  become  household  slaves,  or  to  be  sent 
to  the  clove  plantations  on  Pemba  Island,  or  to  be  shipped 
off  to  ports  of  Arabia,  where  they  were  chiefly  required  for 
household  purposes  or  as  agricultural  labourers.  When  they 
became  domestic  slaves  in  Zanzibar,  they  were  not  treated 
badly;  women  often  became  concubines  of  their  masters  and 
were  kindly  treated,  while  men  became  trusted  slaves  and 
lived  in  comparative  comfort ;  the  latter  frequently  had  slaves 
of  their  own,  and  sometimes  they  lived  like  free  men,  though 
they  were  always  liable  to  be  sold  again  at  any  moment  if 
their  masters  became  tired  of  them,  or  there  were  other 
reasons  for  parting  with  them1. 

Boys  and  girls  were  eagerly  sought  and  purchased,  to  do 
work  on  the  clove  plantations  on  Pemba  Island,  where  the 
dust  from  the  cloves  with  the  insanitary  conditions  of  their 
homes  soon  brought  on  lung  diseases,  and  carried  off  numbers 
of  them  annually,  so  that  fresh  supplies  were  constantly 

1  The  Zanzibar  Cathedral,  the  headquarters  of  the  Universities'  Mission, 
stands  on  the  original  slave  market.  This  site  was  procured  by  Bishop 
Steere,  and  the  beautiful  Cathedral  was  built  on  it  as  a  witness  to  Christian 
liberty  and  freedom. 


I]  BRITISH  WARSHIPS  AND  SLAVERY  n 


needed.  Owing  to  the  influence  of  early  travellers,  who  made 
known  to  the  British  Government  the  horrors  of  slavery, 
British  men-of-war  were  sent  into  this  part  and  were  actively 
engaged  in  suppressing  this  slave  traffic.  This  was  at  an  early 
date  in  our  knowledge  of  East  Africa.  The  trade  was  cruel  in 
the  extreme,  the  sea  voyages  adding  new  kinds  of  torture ;  men 
and  women,  boys  and  girls,  regardless  of  age  or  sex,  were 
packed  into  dirty  dhows  with  no  room  to  lie  down  or  even  to 
sit  in  comfort,  in  fact  some  were  so  closely  packed  that  they 
had  to  stand  until  they  disembarked.  The  food  on  such  voyages 
was  boiled  rice  handed  round  in  pots,  and  a  scanty  supply 
of  fresh  water  was  allowed  them  daily.  My  personal  experi- 
ence of  this  side  of  slavery  has  fortunately  been  limited, 
though  I  have  seen  large  numbers  of  people  when  rescued 
from  dhows  by  men-of-war,  and  I  have  taken  charge  of  a 
few  of  those  rescued  captives  and  trained  them  as  servants. 

The  majority  of  Zanzibar  porters,  as  already  stated,  are 
men  who  were  slaves  of  Arabs,  but  were  allowed  to  become 
porters  and  take  service,  even  for  two  or  three  years'  duration, 
under  travellers  going  into  the  interior  of  Africa.  For  such 
men  the  worst  part  of  the  thraldom  of  slavery  was  at  an  end, 
their  training  had  in  most  cases  reduced  them  to  a  low  state 
intellectually  and  morally.  It  is  largely  due  to  the  Arab 
influence  that  comparatively  little  success  has  been  obtained 
by  those  who  have  tried  to  educate,  Christianise,  and  raise 
the  Zanzibar  slaves  from  their  degraded  condition.  Some  of 
the  worst  cruelties  ever  perpetrated  in  slave-raiding  have 
been  carried  out  by  slave-raiders  who  were  drawn  from  this 
class.  The  raiders  were  either  slaves,  or  sons  of  women  who 
had  been  slaves  and  had  been  taken  to  wife  by  their  masters; 
their  sons  had  then  been  placed  in  positions  of  trust  such  as 
the  leading  of  slave  expeditions.  The  past  experience  of  these 
men,  who  had  been  through  the  mill  of  slavery,  instead  of 
softening  them  and  making  them  tender  and  sympathetic 
towards  sufferers,  had  made  them  harder  and  more  cruel 
than  their  masters;  and  their  own  sufferings  seemed  to 
have  given  them  new  ideas  for  torturing  their  fellow  men  in 


12  THE  HORRORS  OF  SLAVERY  [ch. 


a  more  diabolical  manner  even  than  that  practised  by  their 
masters.  When  possible  these  men  would  raid  a  district 
by  night  and  capture  the  inhabitants,  shooting  down  those 
who  resisted  or  made  a  stand  for  life  and  freedom.  When 
such  raids  were  impossible  owing  to  the  tribes  being  too 
powerful,  the  traders  would  purchase  slaves,  giving  in  ex- 
change barter  goods  such  as  calico,  prints,  iron  wire,  brass 
wire  or  copper  wire,  guns,  gun-powder  and  percussion  caps1. 

As  slaves  became  scarce  nearer  the  coast,  the  traders  had  to 
go  further  afield  to  obtain  them,  and  then  began  those  trying 
journeys  for  slaves  through  waterless  tracts  of  country  with 
fearful  loss  of  life,  journeys  which  have  marked  slave- 
i aiding  as  the  most  cruel  and  debasing  occupation  on  earth. 
It  was  to  the  advantage  of  the  trader  to  carry  as  many  as 
possible  of  his  victims  to  the  coast  in  a  saleable  condition, 
but,  as  he  wanted  to  make  as  much  profit  as  possible  out 
of  them  on  the  way,  they  were  laden  with  ivory,  horns,  food 
for  his  caravan,  and  any  other  goods  which  he  might  have. 
The  captives  were  chained  together  in  gangs  of  ten  or  twelve; 
each  slave  had  an  iron  collar  on  his  neck  with  an  eye  through 
which  the  chain  ran;  one  end  of  the  chain  was  secured  to 
an  iron  collar,  and  a  lock  at  the  other  end  of  the  chain 
prevented  it  from  being  withdrawn  from  the  collar,  and 
made  it  impossible  for  any  slave  to  escape  without  the  whole 
gang  being  loosed.  The  journeys  to  the  coast  were  in  many 
cases  too  terrible  for  description;  when  a  mother,  carrying 
her  infant  in  addition  to  some  load  for  her  master,  staggered 
under  her  burden,  she  would  be  lashed  on  with  a  rhinoceros 
whip  which  cut  through  her  flesh  at  each  stroke,  or  perhaps 
her  child  would  be  torn  away  from  her,  dashed  against  a 
tree  to  kill  it,  and  the  body  flung  by  the  roadside  and  left 
for  the  wild  beasts.  Sometimes  a  weary  captive  fell  sick 
and  was  unable  to  keep  pace  with  others,  but  there  was  no 
mercy  shown,  the  whip  was  the  medicine  administered  to 

1  For  years  the  discarded  service  rifles  from  European  armies  have  been 
bought  up  by  merchants  who  shipped  them  to  Africa  and  sold  them  at 
great  profit  to  Arab  and  other  traders,  to  be  used  as  barter  goods  in  the 
interior. 


1] 


THE  TAMING  STICK 


13 


help  the  patient  into  camp;  should  this  fail,  the  trader 
would  strike  off  the  head  with  his  sword  rather  than  release 
the  poor  wretch  from  his  chains  and  give  him  a  chance  of 
recovery;  the  gang  was  then  ordered  to  pass  on  and  catch 
up  the  other  captives.  Such  cruelty  was  said  to  inspire  the 
others  with  dread  of  a  like  fate,  should  they  fail  to  keep  the 
necessary  pace. 

It  sometimes  happened  that  some  captive  who  was  healthy 
and  strong  resented  the  treatment  he  received  at  the  hands 
of  his  captors  and  refused  to  carry  an  allotted  load;  pos- 
sibly he  had  been  a  chief  or  a  man  of  position  in  his  village 
community  and  accustomed  to  marks  of  respect;  the  slave 
driver  under  such  circumstances  said  he  must  "tame"  the 
man  and  break  his  spirit.  To  effect  this,  the  man's  neck  was 
secured  in  the  fork  of  a  long  heavy  tree  branch,  so  that  he 
could  not  withdraw  it,  and  during  a  march  some  person 
appointed  carried  the  other  end  of  the  branch  to  enable  the 
man  to  walk  and  carry  his  load  in  addition  to  the  weight 
of  his  tree.  At  night  his  hands  and  feet  were  bound  to  the 
tree  branch,  named  "the  taming  stick,"  thus  causing  cramp 
and  pain;  often  the  thongs  cut  into  the  flesh,  causing  blood 
to  flow.  I  once  came  upon  a  slave  in  camp  thus  bound;  he 
must  have  been  lying  there  for  some  hours,  before  his  groans 
reached  me  and  guided  me  to  the  hut  in  which  he  lay  or 
rather  squatted.  He  was  lashed  with  leather  thongs  so 
tightly  to  the  tree  that  the  flesh  had  swelled  over  them  and 
they  had  cut  through  the  flesh,  and  blood  was  dripping  from 
his  wrists  and  upper  arms  and  also  from  his  legs.  It  was 
difficult  to  cut  the  thongs  without  hurting  the  poor  fellow ; 
his  gratitude  was  great  when  he  was  enabled  to  stretch  himself 
and  to  rest  his  weary  limbs.  The  slave-trader  protested  when 
I  went  to  release  the  poor  man,  and  said  he  would  escape, 
but  he  was  silenced  on  my  threatening  to  hand  him  over  to 
the  British  authorities  at  the  coast. 

England  did  a  noble  thing  for  Africa  when  she  set  her 
face  against  slavery,  and  worked  so  indefatigably  to  suppress 
the  abominable  traffic .  Livingstone  did  an  excellent  work 


14 


CAMPING  GROUND 


[CH. 


in  exposing  this  trade  and  stirring  up  a  greater  spirit  of 
enquiry  into  the  atrocities.  Now  England  in  conjunction 
with  other  European  powers  has  made  the  slave  traffic 
impossible  on  the  East  Coast,  and  only  the  milder  form  of 
household  slavery  is  possible.  The  Uganda  railway  has  done 
away  with  the  long  trying  marches  for  porters  and  abolished 
the  last  excuse  for  using  slaves  as  beasts  of  burden.  Christian 
missions  did  great  things  for  the  amelioration  of  slaves;  but 
the  work  of  suppressing  slavery  was  beyond  the  powers  of 
individuals,  it  needed  the  aid  of  the  Government  to  deal  with 
Arab  traders,  and  this  has  been  freely  given. 

In  closing  this  chapter  it  may  be  permissible  to  give  one 
or  two  hints  in  regard  to  marching  and  camping,  which  ex- 
perience has  taught  me,  since  they  may  be  of  value  to  some 
future  traveller.  Zanzibar  porters  always  strive  to  camp  on 
old  sites,  chiefly  because  there  are  old  huts  there  into  which 
they  can  enter  and  where  they  can  obtain  shelter  from  the 
heat  by  day  or  the  cold  by  night ;  but  such  old  camps  should 
be  avoided,  because  they  are  insanitary.  Further,  should 
previous  inhabitants  have  been  suffering  from  the  common 
complaint  of  smallpox,  some  porter  almost  invariably  catches 
the  disease  and  spreads  it  to  his  companions,  thus  doing 
untold  harm  to  the  party.  Even  apart  from  the  horrible 
disease  of  smallpox,  there  are  other  reasons  for  avoiding  old 
camps,  such  as  dysentery  and  tick-fever,  both  serious  dangers 
to  the  European,  beside  filth  and  stench.  The  choice  of  a 
new  and  clean  camping  ground  will  always  pay,  though  it 
may  give  a  little  more  trouble  to  find  a  new  site  suitable  for 
pitching  the  tent  and  building  huts  for  the  porters.  I  have 
known  of  two  or  three  deaths  of  Englishmen  which  were 
traced  to  the  effects  of  disease  taken  from  old  camping 
grounds.  When  the  ground  has  been  chosen,  the  tent  should 
be  pitched  on  the  smoothest  and  most  level  part.  The  tent 
should  have  its  openings  north  and  south,  to  prevent  the 
sun  from  streaming  into  it.  Most  travellers  like  to  have 
a  waterproof  ground  sheet  for  a  carpet,  but  if  that  cannot 
be  obtained,  newly  cut  grass  should  be  laid  down,  the 


I] 


SETTING  A  GUARD 


15 


straws  being  arranged  straight  as  in  thatching,  not  thrown 
in  anyhow. 

A  most  important  point  in  camp  life  is  to  see  that  all 
boxes  and  wooden  articles  are  raised  from  the  ground  and 
laid  on  stones  or  on  branches,  to  save  them  from  the  ravages 
of  the  white  ants,  which  will  eat  through  wooden  boxes  and 
destroy  goods  in  a  single  night  if  they  are  left  undisturbed. 
The  general  goods  should  be  stacked  in  front  of  the  tent, 
raised  up  as  described,  and  the  porters  should  encircle  them 
with  their  huts  or  places  of  rest  for  the  night.  This  pre- 
caution will  lessen  the  chances  of  thieves  coming  during  the 
night,  and  lighten  the  duties  of  the  guard,  which  should  be 
stationed  as  soon  as  the  goods  are  stacked.  It  is  always 
advisable  to  appoint  men  to  guard  the  goods,  and  each 
porter  will  take  two  hours  of  this  work  during  the  day  or  the 
night  without  grumbling.  Possibly  no  attempt  will  be  made 
to  steal,  but  on  the  other  hand  something  may  be  stolen, 
and  then  there  is  not  only  the  annoyance  of  loss,  but  also 
serious  inconvenience  and  even  disastrous  consequences  may 
arise  to  the  traveller.  I  have  only  once  been  robbed  during 
the  night,  and  that  was  near  the  end  of  my  long  years  of 
experience,  at  a  place  where  I  thought  it  would  be  safe  to 
relax  my  usual  custom.  I  was  assured  that  no  one  would 
steal,  but  I  lost  everything  in  the  way  of  personal  outfit 
except  one  suit  of  clothes;  money,  medicines  and  clothing, 
all  disappeared,  owing  to  my  neglect  to  place  a  guard. 


CHAPTER  II 


TRIBES  MET  WITH  IN  US  AGAR  A— TRIBAL  WARS— THE 
DREADED  MASAI— STRICT  MORALITY  AMONG  THE 
WAMEGI— BURIAL  AND  OTHER  CUSTOMS  AMONG 
THE  WAMEGI— DRESS  AND  ORNAMENTS 

T^ROM  the  coast1,  where  the  natives  had  for  years  been 


JL  under  Arab  rule  and  where  that  rule  was  acknowledged 
until  the  German  occupation  in  1887,  there  was  little  more 
than  a  nominal  suzerainty,  for  there  was  no  ruler  nor  any 
administrative  body.  When  Unyamwezi  was  reached,  there 
was  tribal  authority.  Many  small  tribes  are  found  there, 
almost  all  of  them  belonging  to  the  Bantu  stock  and  each 
speaking  a  dialect  of  the  Bantu  language  in  the  coast  belt. 
The  people  live  in  communities,  which  consist  of  clusters  of 
huts,  varying  in  number  from  four  to  one  hundred,  enclosed 
in  a  stockade  seven  to  eight  feet  high  made  of  rough  stakes 
planted  side  by  side  and  tied  together  with  strong  creepers ; 
round  the  outside  of  these  stockades  thorny  shrubs  are 
encouraged  to  grow,  to  make  them  more  formidable  to 
the  approach  of  any  foe.  There  is  one  entrance  with  a 
gate  consisting  of  four  or  five  roughly  cut  planks;  through 
each  plank  a  hole  is  bored  at  one  end,  and  a  strong  wooden 
bar  is  passed  to  form  a  hinge  on  the  upper  end;  these  planks 
are  then  raised  during  the  day  to  allow  people  to  pass  in 
and  out  at  will,  but  at  sunset  they  are  lowered  and  secured 
on  the  inside.  The  sanitary  conditions  of  the  approaches  to 
these  villages  are  dreadful ;  for  three  or  four  hundred  yards 
on  either  side  of  the  entrances  the  grass  and  shrubs  are  allowed 
to  grow,  and  the  place  is  used  by  the  inhabitants  for  the  relief 
of  nature,  and  human  excretions  lie  about  in  all  directions, 
making  a  foul  smell ;  no  steps  are  taken  to  cleanse  the  place, 

1  Until  Unyamwezi  was  reached,  a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles,  there 
was  not  any  chief  commanding  the  respect  of  an  entire  tribe.  Arabs  claimed 
to  rule  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  inland. 


PLATE  II 


SHIELDS  AND  SPEARS  FROM  BUGANDA,  BUSOGA,  BUKEDI, 
SEMLIKI  VALLEY  AND  KAVIRONDO 


PLATE  III 


CH.  II] 


NATIVE  BUILDING 


17 


it  is  left  until  the  tropical  rains  come  to  wash  the  ground  and 
cleanse  it.  If  it  were  not  for  the  heat  of  the  sun  and  the  rarity 
of  the  atmosphere,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  typhoid  or 
enteric  fever  would  carry  of?  hundreds  of  victims  each  year1. 

When  Usagara  is  reached  a  new  phase  of  life  and  of  lan- 
guage meets  the  eye  and  ear  of  the  traveller;  the  physical 
features  also  differ,  for  the  country  is  hilly  to  mountainous, 
whereas  he  has  been  travelling  through  comparatively  smooth 
country.  Again,  the  round  huts  with  conical  roofs  built  on 
stakes  four  or  five  feet  long,  driven  a  few  inches  into  the 
ground  and  lashed  together  with  creeper  cords  or  strips  of 
bark,  and  the  interstices  filled  with  clay  thrown  with  force 
from  the  inside,  and  the  wall  smoothed  with  the  palm  of 
the  hand,  are  left  behind;  and  a  new  kind  of  architecture 
meets  the  gaze.  The  huts  of  Usagara  are  built  in  squares 
with  flat  roofs,  the  walls  are  stakes  driven  into  the  earth 
as  mentioned  above,  but  they  are  six  or  seven  feet  long  and 
bound  together.  The  rooms  inside  measure  from  eight  to 
nine  feet  wide.  From  the  top  of  one  wall  to  the  top  of  the 
opposite  wall  stout  timbers  are  laid  to  form  rafters,  then 
smaller  timbers  are  laid  crosswise  to  these  and  covered  with 
grass  with  a  thick  layer  of  clay  on  the  grass  and  beaten 
hard.  These  houses  may  be  of  any  length,  according  to  the 
number  of  families  about  to  live  in  them.  They  are  built 
to  form  a  square,  leaving  a  courtyard  in  the  middle  for 
the  cattle.  Each  family  has  two  rooms,  a  common  room 
and  an  inner  sleeping  room ;  a  door  leads  from  the  common 
room  into  the  courtyard.  There  is  one  gateway  only  leading 
into  the  courtyard,  it  passes  under  the  roof  between  two  of 
the  houses,  and  is  guarded  by  the  chief  of  the  community, 
who  is  also  the  guardian  of  the  peace;  all  other  doors 
open  into  the  courtyard.   Should  there  be  an  increase  in 

1  Though  the  people  may  belong  to  the  same  tribe,  it  is  seldom  that  more 
than  one  village  acknowledges  the  authority  of  the  same  chief.  Each 
village  has  its  own  ruler  and  lives  independently  of  the  next  village;  it 
is  only  when  threatened  by  war  that  they  combine  to  meet  a  common  foe. 
In  one  or  two  of  these  villages  I  found  women  the  acknowledged  rulers; 
these  were  the  only  cases  met  with  in  Africa  where  the  men  of  a  tribe 
allowed  a  woman  to  rule  them. 


R.U. 


2 


18  MILK  CUSTOMS  [ch. 

this  community  and  some  other  person  wishes  to  come  to 
live  with  them,  a  conical  hut  will  be  built  near  the  flat- 
roofed  houses;  and  in  time,  when  several  such  huts  have 
been  built,  the  chief  may  decide  with  the  community  to 
add  a  new  court  to  the  old  one  and  form  another  square 
with  the  flat  roofs,  abolishing  the  round  huts.  Such  huts 
with  flat  roofs  of  earth  betoken  an  unsettled  country,  they 
are  intended  to  protect  against  the  weapons  of  the  adver- 
saries, or  from  incendiaries  and  night  attacks.  They  were 
proof  against  the  weapons  which  the  people  then  possessed, 
such  as  spears,  bows  and  arrows. 

These  flat-roofed  houses  are  built  either  on  the  tops  of 
hills,  or  on  some  level  place  high  up  the  sides  of  the  hills, 
for  safety,  with  the  object  of  being  out  of  reach  of  the 
Masai  whom  the  people  fear  because  of  the  raids  frequently 
made  for  cattle,  and  for  avoiding  raids  made  to  obtain 
slaves.  The  people  in  Usagara  who  live  in  these  flat-roofed 
houses  call  themselves  Wamegi ;  the  Wagogo,  whose  country 
is  further  inland,  adopt  the  same  plan  of  building  their 
houses,  but  they  live  on  the  plains.  The  Wamegi  combine 
agriculture  with  cattle  rearing;  they  appear  to  have  been  a 
pastoral  people  who  have  settled  down  to  an  agricultural 
life,  but  who  dearly  love  to  possess  a  few  cows.  The  cows 
are  a  small  breed  with  humps ;  they  are  mountain  cattle,  and, 
like  most  African  cows,  give  very  little  milk.  A  calf  is  never 
taken  from  its  dam,  and  should  it  die,  the  cow  soon  ceases 
to  give  milk,  until  she  has  another  calf.  Milk  is  preserved 
in  long  gourds  and  is  drunk  after  it  has  turned  sour;  it  is 
put  into  the  gourd  vessels  when  obtained.  The  vessels  are 
seldom  washed,  and  the  dregs  from  the  previous  milk  soon 
cause  new  milk  to  turn  sour;  in  this  condition  it  is  partaken 
of  if  not  too  thick.  A  bowl  of  clotted  milk  is  given  to 
any  honoured  guest  as  a  mark  of  esteem.  An  Englishman 
finds  a  bowl  a  large  amount  to  drink,  even  though  he  may 
be  thirsty.  A  common  sized  bowl  contains  two  pints.  I  have 
often  been  presented  with  a  bowl,  and  have  been  compelled 
to  make  excuse  for  favouring  a  child  of  the  family  with  the 


n] 


GOAT  REARING 


19 


unfinished  luxury.  Goats  and  sheep  are  reared  in  large 
numbers;  they  are,  as  a  rule,  lacking  in  the  chief  respect 
we  consider  to  be  a  mark  of  good  feeding,  namely  fat.  They 
are  wonderfully  active  and  agile  in  climbing  the  hills. 

Goats  and  sheep  sleep  in  the  houses  by  night,  tethered 
to  pegs  in  the  floor  near  the  walls,  in  the  inner  circle  of  the 
round  hut,  or  against  the  walls  of  the  square  hut.  In  the 
morning  they  are  turned  out  when  the  dew  and  mist  have 
evaporated  from  the  grass.  Experience  has  taught  the 
people  that  the  wet  grass  causes  goats  to  have  skin  disease 
which  makes  the  hair  fall  from  the  legs,  leaving  ugly  sores. 
Cows  sleep  in  the  open  in  the  courtyard  within  the  square 
formed  by  the  flat-roofed  houses.  Young  people,  boys  and 
girls,  herd  the  cattle;  goats,  sheep  and  cows  being  herded 
together,  while  the  children  play,  from  time  to  time  giving 
a  little  attention  to  the  animals;  the  pastures  are  usually  on 
the  hills  well  above  the  valleys.  The  villagers  have  their  fields 
in  the  valleys,  because  the  land  there  is  more  productive  and 
better  watered,  and  the  warmth  is  more  suited  for  growing 
crops  such  as  maize  and  millet.  Men  and  women  work 
together  in  the  fields,  hoeing,  preparing  them  for  seed  and 
sowing  the  seed.  Women  undertake  the  weeding,  thus  freeing 
the  men  to  attend  to  other  work  such  as  the  repair  of  their 
houses,  and  enabling  them  to  visit  and  help  their  other  wives, 
who  live  at  a  distance,  with  their  fields1.  When  the  corn  is 
ripe,  the  men  again  assist  the  women  to  reap  it  and  to  gather 
it  into  the  store-houses. 

1  During  the  weeks  that  the  corn  is  growing  some  people  sleep  in 
small  hastily  built  huts  in  the  fields,  to  guard  them  against  ravages 
from  wild  pigs  and  to  protect  the  crops  against  incursions  of  wild  animals 
in  the  mornings.  When  the  corn  is  ripening,  children  are  employed  to 
frighten  off  birds  and  keep  away  monkeys.  These  young  people  devise 
various  methods  to  save  their  throats  and  their  legs.  Often  a  tree  is 
selected  in  which  they  build  a  platform  where  they  sit  and  use  rudely 
made  wooden  clappers.  On  one  or  two  occasions  I  have  seen  long  cords 
passing  from  one  tree  to  another  tree  at  a  distance.  To  this  cord  small  bells 
were  attached,  and  the  ingenious  child  sat  with  his  clappers  in  the  tree  and 
jerked  the  cord,  causing  the  bells  to  ring  and  frighten  off  the  birds.  The 
work  of  Christian  Missions  suffers  during  this  season,  schools  are  deserted, 
and  the  only  way  to  carry  on  any  missionary  work  is  by  visiting  the  people 
in  the  fields. 


2—2 


20 


CROPS  OF  VEGETABLES 


[CH. 


These  crops  of  maize  and  millet  form  the  staple  food  of  the 
people,  though  sweet  potatoes  are  grown  to  supplement  the 
grain,  and  also  a  limited  amount  of  beans,  vegetable  marrows 
and  pumpkins  for  a  change  of  diet.  Marrows  and  beans  are 
grown  by  a  few  people,  but  more  as  luxuries  than  necessaries. 
In  this  part  of  Africa  the  rain  falls  at  regular  intervals. 
The  small  rains  begin  in  September  and  continue  for 
three  to  four  weeks,  when  there  is  a  hot  season  lasting  from 
November  to  March.  The  heavy  rain  then  falls,  this  rainy 
season  lasting  some  six  weeks.  From  June  to  September  rain 
seldom  falls.  There  is  no  attempt  made  at  cultivation  during 
the  long  period  of  drought,  except  in  small  gardens  on  the 
hill-sides  through  which  a  stream  flows  so  that  irrigation  can 
easily  be  secured.  The  dry  season  is  a  time  of  rest  from 
agricultural  pursuits  and  is  the  more  usual  time  for  festivities 
and  general  relaxation ;  marriages  take  place,  and  dances  are 
given,  first  in  one  village  and  then  in  another,  which  often  last 
two  days  and  a  night,  while  drinking  is  freely  indulged  in, 
though  there  are  few  cases  of  drunkenness.  At  harvest  the 
corn  is  gathered  into  large  baskets  and  stowed  away  in  the 
huts.  The  granaries,  when  such  are  used,  are  rudely  formed 
upper  stories  in  the  conical  roofs,  or  are  shelves  made  in 
the  flat-roofed  houses  over  the  fire. 

Maize  is  the  favourite  grain  for  food.  It  is  pounded  in  large 
mortars  with  hard  wooden  pestles;  the  corn  is  first  soaked 
for  several  hours,  which  causes  it  to  husk  readily,  it  is  then 
dried  and  ready  for  pounding.  When  pounding  grain,  two 
women  stand,  one  opposite  the  other,  with  a  large  wooden 
mortar  between  them,  and  with  their  pestles,  which  are  made 
some  four  feet  long  and  three  inches  thick,  they  pound  away 
until  the  flour  is  quite  fine.  From  time  to  time  the  flour  is 
emptied  from  the  mortar  into  a  shallow  basket  and  shaken, 
to  separate  the  fine  flour  from  the  coarse,  the  latter  being 
returned  to  the  mortar  for  further  pounding.  When  the  flour  is 
pounded  to  their  satisfaction,  it  is  dried  in  the  sun  and  is  then 
ready  for  use.  Millet  is  not  pounded,  but  is  ground  between 
two  stones  and  is,  as  may  be  expected,  very  gritty ;  it  requires 


II]  CUSTOM  OF  TAKING  MEALS  21 

a  person  with  strong  and  robust  digestive  organs  to  eat  it 
without  suffering  considerably  from  the  grits.  In  either  case, 
whether  the  flour  is  obtained  from  millet  or  from  maize,  it  is 
made  into  thick  porridge,  by  boiling  a  quantity  of  water, 
adding  flour,  and  stirring  it  constantly  as  it  boils,  until  it 
attains  the  desired  thickness.  The  family  gather  round  the 
pot  and  take  the  food  from  it  with  their  hands.  If  the 
weather  is  fine  they  sit  outside  near  the  door,  but  inside  if 
the  weather  is  wet.  Usually  husband  and  wife,  with  their 
children,  sit  round  the  same  pot,  though  in  some  instances 
young  men  are  given  their  meals  in  a  pot  apart  from  their 
parents.  There  is,  as  a  rule,  one  meal  only  in  the  day.  This 
is  eaten  about  sunset.  During  the  earlier  part  of  the  day  any 
member  of  the  family,  when  pressed  by  hunger,  may  bake 
a  sweet  potato  or  a  cob  of  maize  in  the  hot  embers  of  the 
fire  and  eat  it,  but  there  is  no  attempt  made  to  provide  a 
regular  meal.  Both  boys  and  girls  are  fond  of  trapping 
small  birds  and  rats,  which  they  cook  over  fires  in  the  fields, 
and  eat  as  they  play  or  herd  their  cattle. 

Children  are  allowed  great  freedom  until  they  are  initiated 
into  the  tribe.  Before  they  are  old  enough  for  initiation,  their 
chief  duty  is  that  of  herding  the  flocks,  and  numbers  of 
children  assemble  for  this  task,  to  keep  one  another  company 
and  while  away  the  hours,  which  would  otherwise  be  tedious. 
They  enliven  their  duties  by  playing  and  hunting  small 
game,  and  with  the  produce  of  their  hunting  they  lay  up 
a  store  for  the  make  believe  housekeeping,  imitating  their 
elders  in  domestic  life.  The  boys  often  make  toy  weapons  for 
playing  at  soldiers  and  become  experts  at  throwing  clubs 
in  their  sham  battles. 

The  Wamegi,  and  indeed  all  the  coast  tribes,  are  poly- 
gamous. When  a  man  marries,  he  does  not  remove  his  wife 
from  her  old  home,  but  builds  a  house  for  her,  attached  to 
that  of  her  father,  or  a  conical-roofed  hut  near  the  flat- 
roofed  house,  and  resides  with  her ;  when  he  marries  another 
wife,  he  leaves  the  first  wife  for  a  time  and  lives  with  the 
second  at  her  village.  It  thus  often  happens,  when  a  man 


22 


FAMILY  LIFE 


[CH. 


has  six  or  seven  wives  living  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
that  he  is  absent  for  months  from  his  first  wife,  as  he  makes 
his  tour  of  visits  to  his  other  wives  and  helps  them  to  dig 
their  fields  and  to  sow  and  reap  their  crops. 

When  children  are  born,  they  remain  with  the  mother  and 
look  to  her  as  their  principal  authority  and  guardian.  The 
husband  assists  his  wife  to  obtain  the  necessary  clothing  for 
herself  and  children,  and  any  implements  she  requires  for 
the  garden,  and  cooking-pots  for  the  house;  he  also  gives 
her  presents  of  goats  and  sheep,  and  when  possible  he  adds 
a  cow.  As  might  be  expected  under  such  circumstances, 
the  children  scarcely  know  their  father  and  have  little 
affection  for  him,  but  their  affection  for  their  mother  is 
marked.  Should  the  father  do  anything  which  a  son  dislikes, 
e.g.  abuse  his  mother,  he  will  take  her  part  against  his  father. 

Marriage  is  seldom  the  outcome  of  love.  It  is  considered 
by  both  men  and  women  to  be  the  natural  procedure  for 
a  youth  who  has  attained  adolescence  to  marry,  and 
the  proper  course  for  a  woman  to  become  a  wife  and  a 
mother.  Girls  are  usually  betrothed  in  infancy,  or  during 
tender  years,  and  are  claimed  by  their  husbands  when  they 
are  old  enough  to  marry.  It  often  happens  that  a  man  who 
is  many  years  the  senior  marries  a  young  woman  and  she 
sees  nothing  incongruous  in  having  for  her  husband  a  man 
who  may  be  older  than  her  father.  When  an  engagement  is 
made,  the  man  gives  the  girl's  parents  two  or  three  goats 
or  sheep,  and  the  girl  is  from  that  time  guarded  by  her 
mother,  who  regards  her  as  betrothed,  until  she  is  marriage- 
able. As  soon  as  a  girl  shows  signs  of  womanhood,  she  is 
secluded  for  a  period  of  twelve  months.  During  this  time 
she  is  never  allowed  to  go  out  of  the  house,  and  no  man, 
not  even  her  brother,  is  admitted  into  the  house,  nor  may 
any  man  see  her.  Some  elderly  matron  guards  her  and 
instructs  her  in  the  mysteries  of  married  life,  and  tells  her 
how  to  treat  her  husband  and  how  to  manage  children. 
Before  marriage  the  bride  elect  undergoes  an  operation,  which 
is  analogous  to  the  circumcision  of  the  male.  This  is  performed 


II] 


MARRIAGE 


23 


by  a  few  old  women.  After  the  maid  has  recovered  from  her 
operation,  a  feast  is  given  to  women  only.  At  this  feast  the 
bride  appears  bedecked  in  all  the  finery  of  her  tribe  with 
beads,  brass  and  copper  ornaments,  and  a  large  supply  of 
iron  bangles ;  above  all  she  is  well  oiled,  so  that  she  is  dripping 
with  fat,  usually  with  vegetable  oil  extracted  from  the 
castor-oil  plant  seeds.  After  this  feast  the  husband  may 
come  and  claim  his  wife  and,  if  he  is  an  industrious  man,  he 
will  build  her  a  house  at  once ;  or  he  may  leave  her  with  her 
parents  or  in  the  house  of  a  friend  in  her  village.  If  the 
husband  is  already  a  married  man,  he  will  see  his  new  wife 
settled  in  a  house,  before  he  leaves  her  to  visit  another  wife. 
He  will  also  assist  her  to  dig  a  new  field. 

The  principal  chief  of  a  district  is  usually  a  man  who  has 
shown  special  ability  in  warfare,  and  is  on  this  account 
acknowledged  to  be  the  leader,  when  there  is  combined 
rising  to  meet  a  common  enemy.  Such  an  office  places  a 
man  at  the  head  of  the  local  headmen,  makes  him  a  superior 
judge  with  the  right  to  hear  cases  of  appeal  and  to  reverse  a 
judgment  of  the  local  courts,  and  above  all  it  makes  him  the 
representative  of  his  own  people  when  there  is  a  case  to  be 
tried  in  which  some  person  from  another  tribe  is  concerned. 
The  office  carries  no  power  or  right  to  levy  taxes  or  to  control 
arable  land;  but  the  chief  of  each  community  arranges  all 
questions  as  to  boundaries  of  fields  in  his  neighbourhood,  and 
there  are  no  taxes  or  tribute  of  any  kind.  There  is  no  difficulty 
in  securing  a  field,  the  only  restriction  in  occupying  land  is 
that  of  previous  occupation.  No  chief  lays  claim  to  un- 
cultivated land  in  his  neighbourhood,  and  a  man  may  look 
round  and  select  any  plot  that  he  wishes,  provided  it  is  not 
already  claimed  by  some  other  person.  Fields  in  the  valleys  are 
chosen  near  those  of  other  people  from  the  same  village,  for 
the  sake  of  companionship  in  working  hours,  and  also  for  safety 
from  the  men  of  other  villages,  who  are  ever  watching  for 
opportunities  to  seize  women  and  carry  them  away  to  become 
their  wives,  or  to  hold  them  as  hostages  for  the  settlement  of 
some  old  debt. 


24 


INITIATION  CEREMONY 


[CH. 


All  boys  when  about  twelve  years  old  are  expected  to  under- 
go the  tribal  ceremony  of  initiation.  Generally  boys  dread  the 
ordeal,  not  only  because  of  the  physical  suffering  which  they 
have  to  endure,  but  also  because  of  all  the  mystery  and  the 
responsibilities  which  the  ceremony  entails1.  The  number  of 
boys  assembled  at  a  time  for  the  ceremony  varies  from  six  to  as 
many  as  eighteen,  and  the  ages  vary  from  twelve  to  twenty. 
The  boys  are  taken  away  into  a  forest  or  to  some  isolated 
spot  near  a  forest,  where  huts  are  built,  and  an  old  man,  who 
is  regarded  as  a  wise  doctor  and  learned  in  the  lore  of  the 
tribe,  attends  the  youths  and  gives  them  a  course  of  daily 
instruction.  It  is  the  duty  of  this  man  to  tell  the  boys  all 
their  tribal  customs,  to  instruct  them  in  the  secrets  of  worship, 
to  lay  upon  them  all  old  outstanding  feuds,  and  to  charge 
them  to  seek  satisfaction  on  behalf  of  their  fathers2.  Each 
day  the  mothers  cook  their  sons'  food,  and  carry  it  in  the 
evening  to  some  appointed  place  at  a  distance  from  the 
camp,  but  retire  without  any  attempt  to  communicate  with 
them.  The  food  is  carried  into  the  camp  after  the  women  have 
left.  At  the  end  of  about  six  weeks  the  boys  are  all  cir- 
cumcised by  a  skilled  man,  in  the  presence  of  other  elderly 
men,  who  are  there  to  assist  and  are  also  to  witness  the  boys' 
promises  to  be  faithful  to  their  tribal  customs.  After  the 
ceremony  the  boys  remain  in  camp,  until  they  are  healed  and 
strong.  When  they  return  home,  they  are  decorated  in  all 
the  finery  of  young  warriors,  with  head-dresses  of  feathers, 
leg  bells,  red  clay  painted  over  their  bodies,  and  a  plentiful 
smearing  of  oil.  They  carry  spears,  shields,  and  clubs,  while 
those  who  can  display  them,  carry  quivers,  bows  and 
arrows. 

For  several  days  the  boys  march  about  from  village  to 
village  and  receive  presents ;  most  of  them  plait  or  twist  their 

1  The  ceremony  is  held  annually,  though  not  always  in  the  same  district, 
and  boys  are  brought  from  various  villages,  according  to  the  power  of 
persuasion  possessed  by  their  elders,  who  urge  their  sons  to  undergo  the 
rites. 

2  Loyalty  to  their  clan  is  enjoined,  and  they  are  taught  to  regard 
fighting  as  a  duty  which  they  owe  their  relatives,  especially  when  there  is 
need  to  avenge  the  murder  of  any  relative. 


n] 


WOMEN'S  WORK 


25 


long  hair  into  small  cords  like  string,  and  add  fibre  strings  to 
each  twist  of  hair  to  make  it  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  length. 
The  hair  is  worn  hanging  down  to  the  shoulders,  but  some 
youths  prefer  the  cords  to  be  tied  into  bunches  and  wrapped 
round  with  ribbon  like  the  horns  of  a  buck,  so  that  they  taper 
and  stand  off  the  head  in  front,  and  form  a  tail  at  the  back.  The 
hair  is  well  oiled  and  daubed  with  red  clay.  Everything  that  is 
taught  the  boys  during  their  initiation  is  of  a  secret  character, 
and  women  never  enter  into  these  secrets.  When  the  youths 
return  home  again,  they  no  longer  mix  with  the  small  boys  as 
before,  nor  do  they  play  games  with  them.  They  now  mingle 
with  the  men  of  the  place,  and  sit  in  their  councils,  and  take 
part  in  discussing  the  important  affairs  of  their  tribe.  They  are 
now  men  with  the  right  to  speak,  and  they  are  supposed  to  be 
able  to  give  an  opinion  worth  hearing  upon  any  subject. 

Though  the  heavier  share  of  manual  work  falls  upon  the 
women  both  at  home  and  in  the  fields,  for  they  claim  the  fields 
as  their  own,  still  the  men  take  part  in  the  heavy  digging  and 
sowing,  and  again  at  harvest  time.  The  women,  however,  are 
always  at  work,  either  in  the  fields,  gathering  fire- wood,  carry- 
ing water  and  preparing  flour,  or  engaged  in  cooking,  though 
no  family  has  more  than  one  meal  in  the  day.  The  many 
household  duties  keep  a  woman  busy  from  morning  until 
night1.  When  all  is  well,  and  the  people  are  in  good  health, 
they  enjoy  life;  and  so  long  as  nature  favours  them  with 
a  plentiful  rainfall,  and  the  seasons  are  regular,  and  food 
plentiful,  they  think  little  of  any  higher  power;  there  is  then, 
they  suppose,  no  need  to  trouble  any  god.  Old  age  has  its 
trials  and  disadvantages,  because  little  respect  is  paid  to  an 
aged  person  past  work.  He  is  a  burden  to  his  friends  and  a 
drudge,  until  death  mercifully  carries  him  off. 

Sickness  the  people  attribute  to  magic;  and  certain  wise 
men,  who  profess  to  be  able  to  diagnose  a  case  of  sickness  and 

1  Men  on  the  other  hand  often  spend  entire  days  sitting  in  counsel  or 
idling  about.  They  collect  the  materials  for  building  or  repairing  houses, 
and  help  one  another  to  build.  Again,  they  enter  readily  upon  any  dispute 
which  may  take  them  to  some  other  village  to  have  the  subject  discussed. 
Hence  they  are  frequently  called  away  from  work  in  the  fields. 


26 


EXORCISING  GHOSTS 


[CH. 


to  prescribe  remedies,  are  called  in  to  give  advice.  These  men 
are  always  paid  a  fee  in  kind,  either  a  fowl  or  a  goat,  to  dis- 
cover the  cause  of  the  sickness.  There  is  a  firm  belief  in  spirit 
possession,  and  the  medicine-man  is  expected  to  exorcise  a 
ghost,  should  the  oracle  point  to  possession. 

A  woman  whom  I  knew  was  said  to  be  possessed  by 
a  ghost.  The  medicine-man  who  was  called  to  exorcise  it, 
allowed  me  to  be  present  during  the  ceremony,  which  was 
as  follows:  he  had  the  patient  laid  near  the  door  of  the  hut, 
began  to  sing  a  doleful  chant  and  to  rattle  two  wooden  rattles 
over  her  for  several  hours,  and  at  length  commanded  the  spirit 
to  come  out.  The  woman  certainly  recovered  from  serious  fits 
and  became  quite  strong  shortly  afterwards.  Previously  she 
had  suffered  from  loss  of  appetite  and  was  thin  and  listless. 

When  a  death  occurs,  the  body  is  buried  in  the  house,  and 
the  family  continues  to  live  in  the  same  room  and  mourns 
daily  for  the  dead  for  several  months.  As  might  be  expected 
in  an  agricultural  tribe,  favourable  conditions  of  the  elements 
are  highly  prized,  and  medicine-men  seek  to  control  rain  and 
sunshine  and  to  procure  suitable  weather  according  to  the 
tribe's  requirements1.  I  remember  an  occasion  when  a  human 
offering  was  made  because  the  rains  did  not  come  to  time. 
There  had  been  no  rain  for  several  months,  and  the  people 
began  to  fear  famine,  their  food  stores  were  low,  and  the  young 
crops  were  dying.  The  rain-makers  busied  themselves  with 
their  magical  arts  in  vain,  and  at  length  announced  that  a 
human  sacrifice  was  necessary.  A  young  girl,  who  for  some 
months  had  been  a  regular  attendant  at  the  mission  school, 
was  selected  as  the  victim.  She  was  taken  to  a  particular  hill 
some  miles  distant  from  her  village,  where  she  was  made  to 
sit  while  her  head  was  placed  between  two  strong  poles,  two 
ends  being  tied  together  to  form  tongs,  and  the  other  ends 
being  brought  together,  crushing  the  head  flat.  The  body 
was  left  exposed  to  wild  animals  on  the  hill-top.  For  several 
months  the  only  news  which  I  could  obtain  concerning  the 
child  was  that  she  was  on  a  visit.  At  length  the  truth  that 
1  Hence  the  "rain-maker"  is  an  important  personage. 


n] 


CLOTHING 


27 


she  was  dead  leaked  out,  and  later  the  cause  of  her  death 
was  told.  This  instance  is  given  to  show  that,  though  the 
native  ideas  are  very  imperfect,  and  their  worship  is  of  a  most 
primitive  character,  still  they  have  the  belief  in  a  Supreme 
Being  who  needs  some  offering  to  please  him,  so  that  he  will 
let  the  rain  fall  at  the  right  time. 

Until  the  introduction  of  cotton  goods  by  the  Arabs,  the 
clothing  of  both  men  and  women  consisted  of  goat  skins  or 
sheep  skins  prepared  by  being  dried  in  the  sun,  and  afterwards 
worked  soft  by  rubbing  them  in  the  hands.  These  were  tied 
round  the  waist  as  loin-cloths.  Women  rarely  had  any- 
thing on  the  upper  part  of  the  body,  though  men  often  tied 
the  legs  of  a  goat  or  sheep  skin  together  and  slung  it  round 
their  neck  to  act  as  a  cape.  In  the  hilly  part  of  the  country 
the  mornings  and  the  evenings  are  cold,  heavy  mists  often 
hanging  over  the  hills  until  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  At 
such  times  the  people  remain  near  their  fires,  and  only  those 
leave  them  who,  through  important  business,  are  compelled  to 
do  so.  The  herds  are  kept  grazing  near  to  a  place  where  the 
boys  stand  by  a  fire  kindled  outside  the  village  gate,  until 
the  sun  breaks  through  the  mist.  Boys  and  girls  until  they 
are  four  or  five  years  old  run  about  quite  nude. 

Both  men  and  women  are  fond  of  ornaments,  and  wear 
bracelets  and  anklets  of  brass,  copper,  and  iron  wire.  Women 
often  have  bracelets,  which  are  coils  of  brass  wire,  bound 
round  the  arms,  extending  from  the  wrists  to  the  elbows, 
and  bangles  extending  from  the  ankles  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  calf  of  the  leg.  They  are  also  fond  of  brass-  or  copper- 
wire  collars,  which  are  made  like  huge  clock-springs  and  are 
worn  resting  on  the  shoulders,  projecting  in  front  and  behind. 
In  addition  to  these  ornaments  they  are  fond  of  small  beads 
and  work  patterns  worn  on  leather  aprons,  and  they  also  make 
bands  for  their  necks  and  wrists.  They  pierce  the  lobes  of  the 
ears  of  both  sexes  at  adolescence,  and  extend  the  holes  by 
putting  in  discs  of  wood.  The  size  of  the  discs  is  increased  as 
the  person  can  bear  to  have  the  holes  extended,  until  at  times 
they  have  them  fully  two  inches  in  diameter.  I  have  seen 


28 


TRIBAL  WARS 


[CH. 


men  carrying  a  half-pint  bottle,  which  was  used  as  a  snuff  box* 
in  the  lobe  of  the  ear. 

These  ornaments  were  forms  of  currency  and  they  could 
be  removed  and  exchanged  for  food  or  barter  when  desired, 
though  in  more  recent  times  a  woman  did  not  part  with 
any  ornament  given  her  by  her  husband,  or  which  she  had 
otherwise  managed  to  obtain,  the  possession  indicating  wealth 
and  prosperity,  and  the  absence  of  ornaments  being  a  sign  of 
poverty. 

The  Wamegi  are  a  quiet  inoffensive  people;  they  love 
peace  and  dread  war;  yet  seldom  did  a  month  pass  in  those 
early  days  without  some  tribal  dispute  ending  in  a  fight 
between  two  villages,  and  in  almost  every  case  it  was  due  to 
some  man  having  kidnapped  a  woman.  It  was  the  custom 
for  one  branch  of  the  tribe  to  seize  the  women  of  another 
clan,  such  an  action  invariably  causing  a  call  to  arms,  and 
this  often  led  to  a  fight,  in  which  someone  was  slightly 
wounded,  though  seldom  was  anyone  killed.  The  kidnapping 
of  the  women  frequently  proved  to  be  due  to  some  old 
debt  which  had  not  been  paid  within  the  allotted  time, 
or  to  some  other  offence  which  had  been  given  and  which 
was  thus  brought  to  public  notice.  In  the  majority  of  cases 
of  dispute,  such  as  the  capture  of  a  woman  for  a  debt, 
suitable  terms  were  proposed  for  settlement  and  were  at  once 
accepted,  and  the  woman  was  restored  to  her  people  and 
home.  If  the  cause  happened  to  be  an  old  feud  in  which 
a  man  had  been  killed,  a  longer  time  was  needed  to  settle 
the  matter,  because  it  was  more  complicated,  and  a  larger 
sum  was  demanded  than  for  smaller  offences.  Hence  the 
woman  might  be  kept  fully  a  year  till  the  sum  was  paid. 

As  already  stated,  there  is  no  paramount  chief  over  the 
whole  tribe  to  whom  cases  must  be  referred  for  settlement ; 
but  each  small  chief  governs  his  own  village,  and  with  the  co- 
operation of  a  few  elders  settles  any  dispute.  These  men  act 
as  magistrates  and  judges  in  cases  calling  for  arbitration,  and 
fines  are  the  only  punishment  which  they  inflict.  There  are 
no  prisons  nor  are  there  any  places  of  detention,  and  there  is 


BEER  DRINKING 


29 


seldom  any  sentence  of  death  pronounced.  Should  any 
person  become  notorious  in  causing  trouble  in  a  village,  he 
is  warned  and  fined;  and,  should  this  fail  to  bring  about  the 
desired  effect,  he  is  expelled  from  the  community.  The  more 
serious  cases  for  trial1  are  taken  to  the  principal  chief  of 
the  district,  as  stated  above,  but  his  services  are  not  often 
sought.  Still  this  custom  indicates  that  the  chief  is  regarded 
as  the  head  of  the  tribe. 

There  is  a  high  code  of  morality,  theft  is  almost  unknown, 
and  houses  are  never  secured  by  day  or  by  night  except 
against  an  enemy  or  wild  beasts.  A  girl's  honour  and  her 
future  husband's  rights  are  everywhere  respected,  and 
adultery  is  almost  unknown.  During  my  residence  of  several 
years  in  this  district,  when  I  visited  the  villages  regularly  and 
stood  in  intimate  relations  with  the  people,  I  did  not  hear  of  a 
single  illegitimate  child  being  born.  During  the  month  follow- 
ing harvest  there  is  general  rejoicing,  holiday-making,  and 
dancing,  when  beer  is  brewed  in  large  quantities  and  drinking 
takes  place  in  first  one  village  and  then  in  another.  Still 
there  is  little  drunkenness;  indeed  I  never  saw  a  person  the 
worse  for  drink,  and  certainly  there  are  no  habitual  drunkards. 
The  people,  though  industrious  and  inoffensive,  are  not 
intelligent,  but  are  dull  wit  ted  and  not  in  the  least  desirous 
to  receive  either  religious  or  secular  instruction  or  to  improve 
their  social  position.  After  I  had  for  months  tried  to  induce 
young  people  to  come  and  learn,  a  few  children  only  were 
brought  together,  who  consented  to  learn  and  to  attend 
school;  but  at  the  end  of  a  month  they  asked  for  wages  for 
attendance,  and  refused  to  come  again  unless  they  were  paid. 
It  took  months  of  patient  waiting  and  of  visiting  in  their  homes 
and  in  the  fields  before  I  could  induce  them  to  return  and  get 
them  to  understand  that  they  would  benefit  by  instruction. 
Their  ideas  of  books  were  amusing,  they  regarded  them  as  a 
means  of  magic.  On  one  occasion  when  some  packages  were 
missing  from  a  caravan  at  a  certain  village,  the  list  of  the 
contents  was  brought  and  was  read  in  public.  The  accuracy 
1  Where  members  of  different  clans  are  concerned. 


30 


THE  WAHUMBA 


[CH. 


of  the  list  of  contents  created  such  a  deep  impression  that 
the  people  confessed  who  had  taken  the  goods.  They  thought 
that  the  papers  which  could  tell  what  was  in  each  case,  could 
also  tell  who  were  the  thieves,  and  cause  some  calamity, 
should  they  refuse  to  produce  them. 

Besides  these  harmless  Wamegi  who  live  on  the  hills,  there 
are  other  tribes  in  the  same  district,  though  generally  the 
villages  of  the  immigrant  tribes  are  on  the  plains.  Each 
of  these  villages  has  its  own  chief  who  is  independent  of 
the  Wamegi  chiefs.  In  the  north-east  of  the  district  of 
Usagara  are  the  Wakamba — a  tribe  stretching  away  into 
what  is  now  British  East  Africa.  Among  the  Wamegi  may 
also  be  found  villages  of  the  semi-pastoral  people  Wahumba, 
who  are,  I  think,  an  offshoot  of  the  Masai.  The  Wahumba 
have  settled  down  to  agriculture,  though  they  still  retain  large 
herds,  and  the  young  men  adhere  strictly  to  pastoral  customs. 
Instead  of  the  poor  temporary  huts  of  nomads  they  have 
built  villages,  and  near  them  they  cultivate  small  tracts  of 
land.  Milk  still  forms  an  important  part  of  their  diet.  Young 
men  and  women  of  the  tribe  live  together  promiscuously  and 
lead  a  life  free  from  the  restraints  of  marriage,  until  they 
attain  a  greater  age  than  is  usual  for  marriage  among  men 
of  the  tribes  around  them,  who  marry  at  puberty.  During 
their  early  years  they  devote  themselves  to  a  pastoral  life,  and 
are  regarded  as  warriors,  though  they  do  little  fighting.  After 
marriage  they  settle  down  to  an  agricultural  life,  and  the 
women  become  most  chaste  characters  and  fond  mothers. 

Further  inland  are  the  great  plains  stretching  from  the 
Usagara  hills  away  to  the  north,  where  the  Masai  roams  with 
his  large  herds  of  cattle.  From  these  plains  the  young  warriors 
were  accustomed  to  make  their  raids,  wherever  they  heard 
of  any  cattle  to  be  captured.  The  name  of  the  Masai  acted  like 
magic  upon  Swahili  caravans  in  the  past,  causing  the  greatest 
consternation,  and  the  Wamegi  lived  in  constant  fear  lest 
their  cattle  should  be  raided  and  carried  off  by  them.  To 
escape  the  Masai  and  other  warlike  tribes,  the  Wamegi  very 
seldom  allowed  their  cattle  to  be  taken  into  the  valleys  or  on 


II]  CATTLE  RAIDERS  31 

to  the  plains  to  graze,  but  herded  them  on  the  sides  of  the 
hills,  away  from  the  main  paths  which  crossed  the  country. 

The  Masai  were  ever  on  the  watch  to  carry  off  these  cows; 
and  one  morning  they  managed  to  secure  a  herd  of  some 
forty  cows  from  a  village  near  the  mission  station,  under 
cover  of  a  heavy  mist.  The  boys  in  charge  of  the  herd  had 
lighted  a  fire  under  a  projecting  rock  and  were  warming 
themselves,  when  these  daring  warriors  came  and  quietly 
drove  off  the  herd  unseen  by  anyone.  By  the  time  they 
reached  the  valley,  in  which  their  path  lay,  the  church  bell 
began  to  ring  for  morning  service.  The  sound  was  new  to 
the  Masai,  who  whispered  to  one  another  that  it  was  the  call 
of  the  white  man's  war-god.  This  so  unnerved  them  that 
their  usual  courage  forsook  them.  At  the  same  time  a  young 
man  who  was  crossing  the  valley  from  a  village  on  the 
opposite  side,  utterly  unconscious  of  what  was  happening, 
encountered  the  Masai,  who,  taking  him  to  be  the  leader  of 
an  army,  turned  and  fled  in  terror.  The  youth,  who  was  as 
much  startled  and  afraid  as  the  invaders,  raised  the  war- 
cry  and  prepared  to  defend '  himself,  but,  seeing  the  men 
turn  and  run,  he  hurled  his  spear  and  brought  down  one  of 
the  Masai.  The  party  rushed  away,  throwing  down  their 
weapons,  in  order  to  increase  their  speed  and  to  enable  them 
to  escape.  The  villagers  ran  to  arms  and  pursued  the  fleeing 
Masai,  but  could  not  capture  them ;  still  they  recovered  their 
cattle  and  secured  some  five  or  six  shields  and  a  few  spears. 
A  few  months  later  a  chief  from  the  Masai  visited  the 
Mission  with  the  peace-offering  of  a  fine  sheep,  and  asked  to 
see  the  war-god  and  to  hear  his  call.  He  was  sure  that  the  god 
must  be  powerful  who  could  strike  such  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  his  men.  His  request  was  not  granted,  nor  was  his 
curiosity  satisfied,  but  he  was  admonished  never  to  let  his 
men  raid  cattle  in  the  neighbourhood  again. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  intellectual  superiority  of 
the  Masai  to  the  tribes  with  whom  they  came  in  contact  gave 
them  an  advantage,  and  that  they  were  soon  able  to  establish 
a  name  for  bravery,  and  by  a  few  daring  exploits  to  cause  all 


32 


BARTERING 


[CH.  II 


the  people  for  many  miles  around  to  respect  and  fear  them. 
The  Wamegi,  as  already  mentioned,  are  a  timid  people  with 
few  resources,  who  find  it  difficult  to  learn  anything  beyond 
the  elementary  duties  of  cultivation.  They  have  also  adopted 
the  habit  of  hemp-smoking,  which  tends  to  deaden  their  small 
mental  faculties.  At  the  end  of  seven  years'  work  among 
them  I  left,  without  having  made  much  progress  with  their 
spiritual  welfare;  possibly  I  shook  some  of  their  beliefs  in 
their  old  customs,  and  slightly  warmed  their  affections  towards 
Englishmen ;  I  also  got  one  or  two  boys  to  take  an  interest 
in  Christianity. 

The  art  in  which  the  people  mostly  excelled,  was  that  of 
making  small  offerings  of  flour  or  of  potatoes  to  Europeans, 
in  the  hope  of  getting  a  larger  present  of  some  kind  in  return. 
Someone  would  bring  a  small  basket  of  flour  and  refuse  to 
sell  it,  saying  that  it  was  a  present,  and  after  forcing  it  upon 
the  Englishman  would  wait  about,  until  a  return  present  was 
made.  The  flour  would  be  worth  fourpence,  and  the  giver 
would  expect  a  return  present  of  not  less  value  than  a  shilling. 
The  missionary,  who  was  anxious  to  retain  the  friendship  of 
these  people,  was  thus  placed  in  a  difficult  position,  because 
the  refusal  of  a  proffered  gift  gave  offence,  and  on  the  other 
hand  he  could  not  accept  the  gift  without  following  the 
custom  of  giving  a  return  present,  and  in  his  case  it  had 
to  be  of  greater  value.  This  tribe  of  the  Wamegi  is  one  of  the 
poor  tribes  in  Africa,  which  leads  a  meagre  existence,  without 
ever  becoming  wealthy  or  great.  The  amount  of  cultivation 
done  is  only  sufficient  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  family 
through  the  months  of  drought  until  the  following  harvest. 
Should  any  mishap  befall  the  crops,  or  should  there  be 
prolonged  drought  and  the  crops  fail,  famine  is  sure  to 
follow,  and  at  times  there  is  a  serious  difficulty  in  pro- 
curing a  supply  of  seed  for  resowing  the  fields. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  SWAHILI  PORTERS  AND  THE  MASAI— CRAVEN  SPIRIT 
OF  THE  SWAHILI— THE  ARAB  RISING  AGAINST  THE 
GERMANS— EXPERIENCES  AS  A  PRISONER— GERMAN 
INDIFFERENCE— GRAVE  DANGER  OF  DEATH 

IF  we  accept  the  common  account  given  by  pastoral  tribes 
as  to  their  origin  and  their  former  dwelling  place,  we  shall 
agree  that  in  early  ages  there  was  a  migratory  stream  of 
pastoral  people  which  travelled  from  north-east  Africa  in  a 
south-westerly  direction,  leaving  as  they  went  portions  of 
their  tribe  to  settle  in  various  places.  These  parties  may  be 
the  ancestors  of  the  tribes  known  as  the  Nilotic  tribes,  all  of 
whom  have  many  features  in  common.  When  a  more  careful 
study  of  these  tribes  has  been  made,  and  we  are  able  to  com- 
pare them  with  one  another,  we  shall  probably  find  that  there 
are  closer  marks  of  affinity  than  appear  to  us  now  with  our 
limited  knowledge,  and  that  there  has  probably  been  a 
mixture  of  Hamitic  and  Bantu  blood. 

The  Masai,  whose  pastoral  habits  made  them  indifferent  to 
any  settled  locality,  and  whose  herds,  since  they  supplied 
them  with  food  and  clothing,  made  them  independent  of 
foreign  associations,  had  no  pressing  needs  that  could  make 
friendship  with  outside  tribes  necessary.  The  introduc- 
tion of  iron  spears  and  knives,  with  ornaments  of  copper, 
brass,  and  beads,  was  the  only  means  which  outside  tribes 
possessed  of  gaining  intercourse  with  them  by  bartering1. 
But  these  articles  were  more  of  the  nature  of  luxuries  and 
did  not  really  affect  their  mode  of  life.  The  nomadic  life 
of  the  Masai  thus  provided  for  his  needs,  separated  him 
from  the  settled  tribes  of  the  land,  and  gave  him  the  appear- 
ance of  being  a  foe  to  the  peaceful  settlers.  Add  to  these 
characteristics  the  Masai  contempt  for  men  who  toiled  on 
the  land,  and  did  things  which  to  his  mind  were  not  only 

1  The  Masai  had  no  metal-workers. 


R.  U. 


3 


34 


THE  DREADED  MASAI 


[CH. 


derogatory  and  degrading,  but  also  injurious  to  pastoral 
life,  and  the  Masai  readiness  to  risk  life  in  obtaining  cattle, 
and  you  have  what  appeared  to  the  agricultural  Bantu  a 
formidable  foe,  who  must  be  guarded  against  by  every  possible 
means.  The  language,  habits,  and  religious  life  of  the  Masai 
also  separated  him  from  the  tillers  of  land  of  the  Bantu  stock. 
Stories  of  these  Masai  were  recounted  to  the  Swahili  porters, 
and  soon  became  magnified  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  Masai 
were  regarded  as  formidable  warriors,  never  to  be  encountered 
by  agricultural  people  if  it  was  possible  to  avoid  them. 

An  amusing  incident  happened  on  a  journey  when  we  came 
into  contact  with  a  party  of  Masai,  which  illustrates  the  fear 
of  the  porters  and  their  respect  for  the  Masai.  We  had  com- 
pleted our  march  for  the  day,  when  travelling  in  Usagara, 
and  were  encamped  in  a  belt  of  forest  near  a  small  stream, 
quite  comfortably  settled  for  the  night,  when  towards  sunset 
a  few  Masai  came  to  the  river  for  water  and  saw  our  encamp- 
ment. They  began  at  once  to  sing  war-songs,  which  one  of 
the  porters  professed  to  translate  into  Swahili  as  tales  of  their 
prowess,  saying  how  successful  they  had  been  in  their  last 
expedition  and  how  they  feared  no  man.  We  also  dis- 
covered that  they  had  encamped  with  a  large  herd  of  cattle 
at  a  short  distance  from  us.  The  porters  wished  to  strike 
camp,  and  to  move  on  to  another  spot  some  six  miles  distant, 
but,  as  it  was  nearly  dark  and  we  were  tired,  I  decided  to 
remain  where  we  were.  The  porters,  however,  seemed  far  from 
comfortable;  so  I  suggested  going  over  to  the  Masai  camp 
and  making  friends  with  them,  and  I  requested  the  man  who 
had  been  interpreting  the  songs  to  accompany  me.  He  refused 
to  go,  pleading  ignorance  of  the  language,  and,  as  no  volunteer 
could  be  found,  I  was  forced  to  abandon  the  idea.  We  there- 
fore remained  in  camp,  and  I  went  to  bed  early,  being  tired. 
I  could  hear  that  the  porters  had  gathered  near  my  tent  and 
were  whispering  as  they  watched.  They  had  extinguished  their 
fires  to  make  it  more  difficult  for  the  Masai  to  locate  their 
whereabouts,  if  they  made  an  attack,  as  wasevidently  expected. 

The  night  was  dark  and  still,  but  shortly  after  eight  o'clock 


Ill]  PORTERS  AFRAID  OF  MASAI  35 

a  lion  visited  the  Masai  camp  and  killed  a  cow,  and  a  battle 
began  between  the  men  and  the  beast.  The  lion  was  ultimately 
driven  away  from  the  animal  which  it  had  killed,  and  the 
carcase  was  rescued,  and  soon  the  warriors  were  busy  cooking. 
This  disturbance  in  nowise  allayed  the  fears  of  the  porters, 
who  drew  nearer  to  my  tent,  whispering  in  abject  fear,  and 
whom  I  had  to  tell  to  keep  quiet  and  go  to  sleep.  Towards 
midnight  I  was  again  disturbed  by  the  cry:  "We  are  dead, 
the  Masai  are  upon  us!"  and  before  I  could  light  a  candle, 
there  was  a  stampede  and  a  loud  cry,  and  men  came  falling 
over  the  ropes  into  the  tent.  Then  there  was  silence.  By  this 
time  my  candle  was  lighted,  and  there  lay  the  men  before  me 
trembling  and  speechless  with  fear.  When  the  cause  of  the 
disturbance  was  investigated  it  was  found  that  a  rhinoceros, 
or  perhaps  two,  running  to  the  water,  had  tripped  over  the 
tent  ropes,  making  a  noise,  and  the  already  terrified  porters 
mistook  the  animals  for  Masai.  It  was  a  great  relief  to  find 
that  no  one  was  hurt,  but  it  convinced  me  that  there  would 
be  no  rest  in  the  place,  so  I  consented  to  move  on,  at  the 
repeated  request  of  the  porters,  and  I  told  them  to  make  me 
some  coffee.  The  alacrity  with  which  the  coffee  was  made, 
and  all  the  loads  prepared  for  a  start,  showed  the  anxiety 
of  the  men  to  move  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Masai.  By  the 
time  the  meal  was  ended,  the  moon  had  risen  and  was  shining 
brightly,  and  we  made  our  way  in  silent  procession  along  the 
dry  bed  of  a  river,  leaving  the  Masai  with  a  roaring  lion  near 
them,  and  marched  some  miles  from  the  river  camp  until  it 
was  broad  daylight,  when  we  rested  for  breakfast.  After 
resting  we  went  on  a  little  further  to  a  suitable  spot,  where 
we  camped  and  obtained  the  much  needed  sleep.  The  Swahili 
porter  of  that  period  was  convinced  that  one  Masai  was  equal 
to  six  other  men.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  while  such 
exaggerated  ideas  prevailed,  ten  Masai  would  have  been  equal 
to  an  entire  army  of  such  cowardly  porters. 

Another  experience  of  the  Swahili  character  which  I 
encountered  when  living  near  the  coast,  should  be  mentioned 
here :  it  shows  how  he  can  domineer  over  others  when  he  has 


3—2 


36 


A  MISSIONARY  MURDERED  [ch. 


the  upper  hand  and  feels  safe  from  punishment.  In  the  year 
1888,  when  the  German  Government  began  to  occupy  the 
coast  belt,  which  had  for  many  years  been  claimed  by  the 
Arabs  as  belonging  to  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar,  the  natives 
resolved  to  help  the  Arabs  to  resist  the  German  invasion 
and  to  try  and  prevent  them  from  landing.  The  Germans 
found  that  they  would  have  to  resort  to  arms  and  enforce 
submission  from  the  troublesome  Arabs,  and  accordingly  they 
began  hostilities  at  Bagamoyo,  which  was  one  of  the  chief 
towns  occupied  by  the  Arabs  on  the  mainland  opposite 
Zanzibar.  We  who  were  in  the  interior,  and  yet  within  reach 
of  the  coast,  realised  at  an  early  date  of  the  rising  the 
seriousness  of  our  position.  We  could  obtain  no  supplies,  and 
our  lives  were  threatened  by  the  Arabs.  Accordingly  we 
communicated  with  the  British  Consul  in  Zanzibar  and  asked 
for  assistance.  He  sent  a  runner  with  a  scrap  of  a  note,  which 
the  bearer,  by  stitching  it  into  the  hem  of  his  outer  garment, 
managed  to  bring  to  us  through  the  Arab  lines.  The  note 
stated  that  it  was  impossible  to  send  supplies,  but  that  an 
escort  would  be  sent  in  a  few  days,  and  that  we  must  trust 
ourselves  to  this  escort  which  would  conduct  us  safely  to  the 
coast. 

Before  the  escort  arrived,  a  missionary  named  Brookes,  of 
the  London  Missionary  Society,  reached  the  mission  station 
from  the  interior  on  his  way  to  England.  We  told  him  of 
the  serious  trouble  on  the  coast,  how  the  Arabs  had  decided 
to  kill  every  European  whom  they  could  find,  and  we  strongly 
advised  him  to  await  the  escort  and  go  with  us  to  the  coast. 
He  consented  to  do  so,  but,  finding  that  we  were  very  short 
of  food,  and  having  only  a  limited  supply  himself,  he  decided 
to  go  to  a  less  populous  district  and  to  shoot  some  game.  Two 
days  afterwards  one  of  his  boys  returned  to  tell  us  that 
Mr  Brookes  was  dead.  His  tent  had  been  surrounded  in  the 
early  morning  of  the  previous  day  by  Swahili  under  some 
Arab  leaders.  He  was  speared  to  death,  and  his  porters  were 
killed,  except  the  boy  and  one  or  two  men,  who  feigned 
death  and  crawled  away  afterwards,  though  wounded. 


Ill] 


SHORTNESS  OF  FOOD 


37 


In  due  course  the  party  of  Swahili  arrived  as  our  escort, 
but,  as  they  had  brought  no  supplies,  and  we  had  neither 
supplies  nor  any  barter  goods  with  which  to  buy  food,  we 
were  in  a  miserable  state  to  undertake  the  journey.  To  add  to 
our  trouble,  the  party  sent  to  escort  us  to  the  coast  refused 
to  carry  any  of  our  belongings  for  us.  We  were  thus  required 
to  start  without  food  or  clothing.  After  some  time  had  been 
spent  in  reasoning  with  the  two  headmen,  they  agreed  to 
allow  six  men  to  carry  Mrs  Roscoe,  and  three  more  to  carry 
a  small  tent,  her  clothing,  and  any  provisions  that  we  could 
scrape  together.  We  thus  started  for  the  coast,  a  distance 
of  some  two  hundred  miles  which  we  were  obliged  to  walk. 
A  piece  of  a  Buzzard  wedding-cake,  a  few  pounds  in  weight, 
was  all  the  food  we  could  secure  for  myself  and  another  man, 
and  we  were  without  any  change  of  clothing.  A  small  tin 
of  sardines  and  a  one  pound  tin  of  finger-biscuits  was  the 
only  suitable  or  indeed  available  food  for  my  wife,  who  was 
to  be  carried  in  a  hammock. 

The  party  consisted  of  us  three  Europeans,  who  had  to  leave 
everything  behind,  and  start  on  this  journey  to  the  coast  in 
the  rainy  season,  marching  daily  through  swamps  and  rivers, 
and  sleeping  in  wet  clothes  on  the  ground.  Mr  D.  Hooper,  our 
companion,  shared  with  me  a  slice  of  wedding-cake  each  day, 
until  it  was  finished.  With  economy  we  managed  to  make  the 
cake  last  some  ten  days,  and  then  we  were  without  food.  To 
our  surprise  and  joy  a  native  came  forward  and  presented  us 
with  a  small  basin  of  uncooked  rice,  which  we  used  sparingly, 
taking  a  small  tea-cupful  each  night  to  boil  for  the  evening 
meal,  and  leaving  some  for  breakfast  the  next  morning.  It 
was  a  poor  diet,  without  seasoning  of  any  kind;  still  it  kept 
us  alive  and  enabled  us  to  reach  the  coast.  The  porters  were 
most  insolent  and  treated  us  with  scant  respect,  and  the 
headmen  would  not  restrain  them  or  make  them  do  their 
work.  The  men  carrying  the  hammock  often  let  it  fall,  or 
threw  it  down,  saying  that  they  had  slipped,  when  they  might 
really  have  saved  Mrs  Roscoe  from  falling.  At  length  I  was 
obliged  to  walk  behind  the  last  porter,  holding  on  to  the 


38  PRISONERS  WITH  THE  ARABS  [CH. 


hammock  pole  to  steady  him  as  he  walked,  and  I  often  took 
the  hammock  myself  when  crossing  swamps  or  slippery 
places  and  rivers,  because  on  two  occasions  my  wife  had 
fainted  after  the  fall. 

The  rivers  were  flooded,  and  the  low-lying  ground  was 
marshy.  Sometimes  we  walked  for  several  miles  through  water 
a  foot  deep,  and  then  through  water  up  to  our  waists  and  at 
times  almost  to  our  necks  when  crossing  the  streams.  It  was 
a  trying  journey,  without  any  change  of  clothes  and  with  in- 
sufficient food,  and  that  of  a  very  inferior  quality.  The  bad 
roads  delayed  our  progress,  and  each  night  we  had  to  lie  on 
the  wet  ground  without  bedclothing,  using  our  boots  for  our 
pillows,  and  trusting  to  the  strength  of  our  constitutions 
to  carry  us  through  safely.  The  porters  grumbled  freely  at 
having  to  carry  anything  at  all  for  the  white  men  whom 
they  said  they  hated.  They  treated  the  poor  invalid  lady 
with  disrespect  and  even  cruelty,  jolting  her  and  knocking 
her  against  tree-trunks,  in  addition  to  letting  one  end  of  the 
hammock  drop  on  the  slightest  pretext.  It  was  an  aggrava- 
tion of  our  annoyance  at  the  behaviour  of  the  porters  to 
discover  that  some  of  them  had  returned  to  the  mission- 
house  after  we  left,  and  had  taken  much  of  our  property, 
such  as  clothing,  which  they  thought  they  could  sell  at  the 
coast,  and  that  they  were  carrying  it  with  their  own  goods, 
though  they  had  refused  to  carry  anything  for  us,  even  with 
the  promise  of  good  pay. 

When  the  party  reached  the  Arab  fort  at  the  coast,  we 
thought  that  our  troubles  were  ended,  but  to  our  surprise  we 
were  taken  into  the  inner  stockade  where,  escape  was  im- 
possible, and  were  told  that  we  must  not  attempt  to  go  out, 
until  the  sum  promised  as  ransom  money  had  been  paid. 
This  fort,  which  was  a  hastily  constructed  fortification  more 
like  a  town  with  a  stockade  than  a  fort,  had  been  built  two 
or  three  miles  from  Bagamoyo,  to  be,  as  was  thought,  out 
of  reach  of  the  German  guns.  Crowds  of  people  lined  the 
road  and  stared  as  we  entered.  They  wanted  to  see  the 
white  men  who  were  prisoners,  and  it  was  necessary  to  push 


Ill]  TELLING  STORIES  TO  SAVE  LIFE  39 


them  aside,  in  order  to  secure  a  passage  for  the  hammock. 
No  food  was  given  us  on  arrival,  nor  could  we  obtain  any 
through  our  servants,  who  had  accompanied  us  to  the  coast. 
At  sunset  I  discovered  that  a  house  near  to  us  belonged  to  the 
Arab  chief  Bushiri,  and  accordingly  I  pushed  my  way  into 
it  and  found  that  worthy  gentleman,  who  was  very  stout, 
being  prepared  for  bed  by  two  or  three  women.  Bushiri 
was  rather  surprised  at  my  intrusion,  and  asked  what  was 
wanted.  To  this  question  I  replied  that  I  had  come  to  talk 
with  him  as  his  guest.  He  scorned  the  idea  of  my  being  his 
guest,  and  said:  "You  are  a  prisoner." 

There  was  nothing  to  be  done,  but  to  make  the  best  of 
the  trying  position  and  to  treat  his  remarks  as  a  joke  and 
obtain  what  I  could  in  some  other  way.  I  therefore  began 
to  talk  about  the  position  of  the  Arabs,  their  chances  of 
success,  about  the  strength  of  a  man-of-war,  the  methods 
of  European  warfare,  and  so  forth,  and  when  Bushiri  be- 
came interested,  I  stopped  and  pretended  to  be  too  hungry 
and  faint  to  proceed.  The  plan,  fortunately,  succeeded. 
Bushiri  presented  me  with  a  large  tin  of  Huntley  and  Palmer 
biscuits,  and  with  the  promise  to  tell  him  more  about 
European  warfare  on  the  morrow,  I  left,  carrying  the  treasured 
biscuits,  which  enabled  us  to  have  a  good  meal.  My  promise 
to  tell  him  more  about  the  methods  of  warfare  was,  as  it 
happened,  an  excellent  idea,  because  it  enabled  me  to  retain 
a  hold  over  the  Arab  chief,  when  the  ransom  money  failed  to 
arrive  on  the  next  day.  Instead  of  the  money  a  note  came 
saying  that  our  friends  hoped  to  obtain  the  money  on  the 
following  day,  and  trusted  that  we  should  be  safe  and  comfort- 
able for  one  day.  This  news  greatly  annoyed  the  Arabs,  who 
held  a  council  and  suggested  putting  us  to  death.  Bushiri 
came  to  inform  us  of  the  Arabs'  decision.  I  had  to  treat  it 
lightly  and  to  assure  him  that  the  money  would  come,  and 
again  interest  him  in  military  tactics.  Thus  appeased,  he 
returned  to  the  Arabs  and  was  able  to  quiet  them,  and  we 
were  left  unmolested  for  another  day,  and  made  our  meals 
upon  the  few  remaining  biscuits. 


40  AWAITING  OUR  RANSOM  MONEY  [ch. 


The  third  day  came,  and  still  no  ransom  and  no  message. 
The  situation  was  hourly  growing  more  difficult.  I  dared  not 
tell  my  wife  and  companion  how  serious  the  situation  was, 
and  that  the  Arabs  wanted  to  kill  us  and,  as  they  said,  let  our 
deaths  serve  as  a  message  to  the  Germans  that  they  meant 
business.  It  required  tact  and  an  assumption  of  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  methods  of  European  warfare,  to  make  these 
angry  men  think  it  worth  their  while  to  spare  the  lives  of 
their  victims;  and  at  the  same  time  I  had  to  preserve  a  calm 
and  hopeful  appearance  before  the  others.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  third  day  two  men  belonging  to  a  cannibal  tribe  came 
and  sat  in  front  of  the  little  tent,  and  began  to  talk,  saying 
that  they  had  been  short  of  meat  for  some  time  and  adding : 
"  Why  does  not  Bushiri  give  us  one  of  these  white  people  to 
eat?  That  woman  would  make  us  a  good  feast."  My  wife 
asked  me  what  they  were  saying,  and  I  told  her  that  she  was 
being  admired,  whereupon  she  began  to  smile  and  asked  them 
a  few  simple  questions  in  Swahili,  much  to  their  annoyance. 
So  they  got  up  and  walked  away.  She  was  not  told  till  some 
months  afterwards  how  she  had  been  the  theme  of  a  con- 
versation about  a  meal,  and  had  been  admired  in  a  different 
way  to  what  she  thought. 

On  the  fourth  day  the  Arabs  decided  that  they  would  only 
wait  until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  for  the  ransom  money, 
and  if  it  was  not  paid  by  that  time,  our  party  should  be  put 
to  death.  At  noon  two  friends  from  the  Mission  arrived  and 
were  admitted  into  the  fort.  They  came  to  explain  how  it  was 
that  the  money  had  not  been  paid.  They  said  they  had  placed 
the  money  on  board  the  flagship  for  safety,  and  could  not  get 
it  back.  The  German  Admiral,  in  reply  to  their  request  to 
have  the  money  repaid,  said  that  he  meant  to  fight  the  Arabs, 
and  why  then  should  he  pay  them  a  sum  of  money?  When 
told  of  our  position  and  of  the  short  time  left  us,  our  friends 
hurried  back  to  the  beach,  and  communicated  with  the  German 
Flagship,  whereupon  the  Admiral  reluctantly  forwarded  the 
money,  which  was  sent  in  haste  by  special  runners. 

Eventually  it  was  deposited  in  the  fort  an  hour  before  the 


Ill] 


FREED  FROM  PRISON 


41 


appointed  time  for  killing  us.  When  it  was  paid,  Bushiri  turned 
to  us  and  said,  "You  are  free,  you  can  go  at  once,  but  your 
friend  (D.  Hooper)  is  not  one  of  the  party  we  consented  to 
bring  to  the  coast,  therefore  he  must  stay.  We  require  a 
further  ransom  for  him."  It  was  useless  to  protest.  We  had  to 
make  the  best  terms  we  could  for  him,  and  nothing  but  the 
exchange  of  a  political  prisoner  in  Zanzibar  would  suffice. 
The  Arab  who  was  demanded  in  exchange  for  Hooper  was  a 
prisoner  in  Zanzibar  for  a  political  offence — the  murder  of  an 
English  officer.  We  had  to  leave  our  companion  in  this  dread- 
ful place  without  food,  while  we  crossed  to  Zanzibar  to 
intercede  with  the  British  Government  for  the  exchange  of 
prisoners.  Had  it  not  been  for  Hooper's  boy,  who  as  a 
Sudanese  and  a  Mohammedan  was  allowed  to  eat  with  the 
better  class  of  Arab  servants,  and  was  able  to  secrete  a  little 
food  in  his  dirty  loin-cloth  and  carry  it  to  his  master,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Hooper  would  have  died  from  hunger. 

The  French  missionaries  in  Bagamoyo  very  kindly  enter- 
tained us  during  the  evening  and  lodged  us  for  that  night,  and 
on  the  next  day  a  British  gun-boat  carried  us  to  Zanzibar, 
and,  after  we  had  taken  our  message  concerning  Hooper  to  the 
Consulate,  took  us  on  to  Mombasa.  The  British  officers  and 
sailors  must  have  thought  us  a  strange  couple.  We  had  no 
clothing  but  the  rags  in  which  we  had  travelled,  and  were 
unfit  to  appear  among  civilized  people.  We  arrived  in 
Mombasa  on  a  Sunday  morning  at  six  o'clock;  my  wife 
was  put  to  bed  at  once,  and  at  eight  o'clock  our  daughter 
was  born.  Half  an  hour  later  I  was  found  unconscious  on 
the  floor  of  the  bedroom,  having  fallen  down  with  sun-fever. 
For  a  month  we  lay  in  different  rooms,  both  of  us  seriously 
ill.  At  the  end  of  that  time  we  were  carried  on  board  a 
passenger  ship,  in  the  hope  that  a  journey  to  England  might 
be  the  means  of  saving  our  lives.  Thus  ended  our  African 
troubles  for  a  time.  The  voyage  proved  to  be  the  best  remedy 
for  our  illness.  We  met  with  the  kindest  treatment,  and  daily 
gained  strength,  until,  on  our  arrival  in  England,  we  could 
pace  the  deck  without  the  assistance  of  a  friendly  arm. 


CHAPTER  IV 


MARCHING  THROUGH  THE  UGOGO  PLAINS— CONFLICT 
WITH  HIGHWAYMEN— WATERLESS  TRACTS  WITH  TRY- 
ING EXPERIENCE— BUYING  WATER— CATTLE  PLAGUE— 
A  PASTORAL  PEOPLE— GLIMPSES  OF  LAKE  VICTORIA 

FROM  the  coast  to  the  border  of  the  Ugogo  plains  the 
worst  danger  which  the  traveller  has  to  encounter  is  that 
of  malarial  fever.  He  passes  through  districts  with  belts  of 
forests  and  with  rivers,  and  in  such  low-lying  moist  regions 
there  is  always  a  testing  of  the  physical  powers  of  one  who 
has  newly  arrived  in  Africa.  There  is  little  to  be  feared 
from  the  natives.  They  are  on  the  whole  timid,  inoffensive, 
and  kindly  disposed.  When,  however,  he  has  passed  through 
Usagara,  he  enters  upon  new  features  both  of  country  and 
people.  In  the  past  Ugogo  was  for  many  reasons  a  difficult 
country  to  pass  through.  Not  only  were  there  dangers  from 
its  inhabitants,  which  were  no  inconsiderable  or  light  risks, 
but  also  it  was  in  the  rainy  season  swampy  and  unhealthy, 
and  walking  in  the  mud  and  slush  was  heavy ;  while  in  the 
dry  season  it  became  so  parched  and  dry,  that  it  necessitated 
long  forced  marches  from  one  camping  ground  to  another,  in 
order  that  water  might  be  found.  These  forced  marches  were 
undertaken  at  the  risk  of  considerable  physical  suffering,  and 
sometimes  with  loss  of  life.  After  the  rains,  indeed  during 
the  rains,  these  long  arid  plains  rapidly  become  beautiful  with 
flowering  shrubs,  ground  orchids,  grasses,  and  the  most  ex- 
quisite plants,  where,  before  the  rains  set  in,  the  eye  met  with 
nothing  but  leafless  shrubs  or  burnt  up  grass  roots,  so  dry  that 
they  broke  off  with  a  touch  of  the  foot.  Or  again  there  met  the 
gaze  long  stretches  of  dazzling  sand,  glittering  in  the  tropical 
sun,  extending  mile  upon  mile,  unless  the  heat  haze  raised  a 
barrier  to  the  vision.  There  was  no  sign  of  life  on  these  plains 
during  the  drought.  Even  birds  and  insects  seemed  to  have 
deserted  the  district,  leaving  it  without  sound,  except  for  the 
rustling  wind,  and  exposed  to  the  fierce  rays  of  the  pitiless  sun. 


CH.  iv]  THE  PEOPLE  OF  UGOGO  43 


The  dry  season  was  always  chosen  as  the  best  time  for 
travelling,  because  it  had  been  proved  to  be  the  healthiest, 
and  also  because  goods,  carried  in  packages  on  the  heads 
of  porters,  suffered  less  damage  from  heat  than  from  rain. 
On  the  borders  of  these  deserts,  and  indeed  in  one  or  two 
places  in  the  plains  where  water  was  permanently  found, 
there  were  encountered  a  few  scattered  villages  of  Wagogo, 
who  are  of  the  Bantu  stock,  and  build  flat-roofed  houses 
similar  to  those  mentioned  above,  and  who  keep  large  herds 
of  cattle  in  their  compounds.  They  also  grow  crops  of  millet 
during  the  rainy  season,  which  they  grind  into  flour,  and  boil 
into  a  coarse  porridge  as  their  chief  article  of  diet.  The 
crops  are  grown  in  sufficient  quantities  to  provide  them 
with  food  during  the  months  of  drought  until  the  following 
rainy  season.  These  people  have  no  form  of  joint  govern- 
ment in  a  district.  Each  village  or  community  looks  to  an 
elderly  man,  who  is  called  the  father  of  the  village,  to 
settle  any  disputes  and  difficulties  which  arise  among  its 
members.  In  most  instances  when  difficulties  arise,  they 
are  due  to  women  being  stolen,  to  cattle  being  lifted,  or  to 
the  rights  to  portions  of  arable  land  being  infringed  upon  by 
a  neighbour. 

The  men  are  polygamous,  and  are  not  strict  about  the 
conduct  of  their  wives.  Jealousy  is  rarely  shown,  if  it  is  not 
quite  unknown.  Should  a  woman  have  children  by  other  men, 
her  husband  merely  claims  them  as  his  own  children,  and 
seldom  finds  fault  with  his  wife  for  her  faithless  conduct,  the 
addition  to  the  family  being  welcome  and  affording  a  com- 
pensation for  the  lack  of  morals.  The  homes,  if  they  can  be 
termed  such,  are  scarcely  more  than  shelters  from  the  weather. 
There  is  little  done  to  promote  personal  comfort.  They  con- 
sist of  a  square  room,  with  a  fire  on  the  earthen  floor  in  the 
middle.  Round  this  the  family  sit  during  the  day,  if  the 
weather  is  wet  or  cold,  and  here  they  lie  by  night.  They  use 
any  scrap  of  clothing  they  may  possess  for  a  covering,  or  in 
its  absence  they  trust  to  the  warmth  of  the  fire  and  to  contact 
with  one  another,  if  the  weather  is  cold.  The  floor  consists 


44 


NATIVE  HOME  LIFE 


[CH. 


of  the  earth  beaten  hard,  and  is  swept  occasionally  with  a 
bundle  of  grass  used  as  a  broom.  Any  goats  or  sheep  which 
the  family  may  possess  are  tied  to  short  pegs,  and  at  times  a 
calf  or  two  may  be  added  to  the  number  of  the  inmates  and 
secured  to  some  part  of  the  wall,  in  order  not  to  trouble  the 
family.  Here  the  calves  are  safe  from  wild  animals  by  night 
and  from  rain  and  cold,  and  are  unable  to  take  their  mother's 
milk,  before  she  has  supplied  the  family  with  their  portion. 

There  is  no  attempt  made  to  ventilate  or  to  light  the 
dwelling,  and  smoke  from  the  fire  which  burns  continuously 
on  the  hearth,  has  to  find  its  way  out  through  any  crevices 
between  the  roof  and  the  walls,  or  through  the  doorway.  This 
smoke  hanging  about  soon  colours  the  rafters  a  shining  black, 
while  festoons  of  smoke  hang  from  rafter  to  rafter.  The  people 
themselves  become  accustomed  to  the  smell,  and  suffer  little 
inconvenience,  whereas  any  European  finds  his  eyes  and 
throat  smarting  in  a  few  moments.  The  people  are  satisfied 
with  one  meal  a  day,  which  is  provided  in  the  evening.  It 
consists  of  millet  porridge,  as  in  Usagara,  and  is  eaten  from 
the  pot  in  which  it  is  cooked.  Round  this  the  family  gather, 
and  they  take  the  food  from  it  with  their  fingers.  They  are 
not  clean  in  their  habits  and  do  not,  as  a  rule,  trouble  to 
wash  their  hands,  either  before  or  after  meals.  They  deem  it 
sufficient  to  wipe  them  on  their  heads  or  to  rub  them  on  their 
naked  stomachs  after  eating.  The  lack  of  cleanliness  is  not 
limited  to  their  personal  habits,  but  extends  to  their  entire 
life.  Thus  the  women  do  not  wash  out  their  cooking-pots 
except  on  rare  occasions.  A  woman  considers  that  she  has 
done  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  cleansing  of  her  cooking 
vessel,  when  she  has  scraped  any  remains  from  the  inside  of 
the  pot  with  a  stick.  The  Wagogo  are  fond  of  clotted  milk. 
It  forms  a  favourite  dish  and  is  often  eaten  in  the  daytime 
as  an  addition  to  the  solid  meal  of  the  evening.  Should  any 
member  of  a  family  feel  hungry  during  the  day,  he  satisfies 
the  craving  by  baking  a  sweet  potato  or  a  cob  of  maize  in  the 
embers  of  the  fire,  and  this  he  eats,  often  sharing  it  with  some 
friend.  When  it  is  possible,  the  millet  porridge  is  supplemented 


IV] 


NATIVE  ORNAMENTS 


45 


by  sweet  potatoes  and  pumpkins  or  by  a  coarse  kind  of 
vegetable  marrow.  These  vegetables,  with  dwarf  beans  and 
a  limited  amount  of  maize,  are  grown  by  many  women. 
Women  indeed  are  the  principal  workers  of  the  land,  though 
men  assist  them  during  the  busy  seasons  of  sowing  and 
harvest.  The  principal  work  of  the  men  is  to  build  the  houses, 
to  provide  weapons,  clothing,  implements  and  so  forth,  and 
to  protect  the  community  against  raids  from  foes. 

Both  men  and  women  are  fond  of  ornaments,  especially 
bracelets  and  anklets  of  brass,  copper,  and  iron  wire.  Women 
also  love  large  collars  of  brass  wire,  these  being  their  chief 
ornaments.  The  wire  forms  the  chief  article  of  barter,  and 
together  with  beads  may  be  said  to  be  the  currency  of  the 
country.  In  recent  years,  since  Arab  and  Swahili  traders 
have  found  their  way  into  the  interior,  coarse  calico  and 
prints  have  been  added  to  the  articles  of  barter,  and  are 
taking  the  place  of  the  skins  of  animals  for  clothing.  The 
lobes  of  the  ears  are  pierced  and  enlarged  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Wamegi,  and  large  discs  of  wood  are  worn  in  them, 
though  a  more  common  and  favourite  custom  is  to  thread 
a  small  spiral  wire  coil  one  or  two  inches  long  into  the  lobe, 
and  to  attach  to  the  spiral  coil  short  pieces  of  chain  an  inch 
long,  which  hang  like  a  fringe  from  it.  In  other  instances  the 
people  wear  two  or  three  coils  of  fine  iron  chain  round  their 
neck,  and  also  pass  them  through  the  lobes  of  the  ears. 

The  bracelets  of  women  are  often  made  so  as  to  extend 
from  the  wrists  to  the  elbows,  and  the  anklets  from  the  ankles 
well  up  the  calf  of  the  leg.  Neither  men  nor  women  are 
striking  for  stature  or  for  beauty,  and  their  scant  clothing  of 
dirty  goat  or  sheep  skin  girdles,  or  ragged  and  smelly  calico 
loin-cloths,  does  not  improve  their  appearance.  They  are  in 
the  habit  of  rubbing  rancid  vegetable  oil  on  their  bodies, 
which  makes  their  dark  skin  darker  than  it  otherwise 
would  be,  and,  as  they  seldom  wash,  their  presence  is  not 
very  agreeable,  especially  if  they  are  warm  from  exertion. 
The  hair  is  short  and  frizzly,  though  the  men  often  allow 
it  to  grow  long,  and  rub  red  clay  mixed  with  oil  into  it, 


46       CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  WAGOGO  [ch. 


twisting  it  to  look  like  black  cords,  and  leaving  it  until  it  is 
so  infested  with  lice  that  it  becomes  unbearable,  and  has  to 
be  shaved  off  to  give  relief  to  the  wearer.  Their  lips  are  thick, 
and  their  noses  broad,  lacking  any  pretension  to  a  bridge.  Still 
the  lower  jaw  seldom  protrudes  like  the  West  African's,  and 
the  features  are  on  the  whole  pleasing  because  of  their  happy- 
disposition  and  their  readiness  to  be  amused  and  to  laugh. 

Women  become  mothers  at  an  early  age  and  are  old  at 
forty-five.  They  seldom  live  to  any  great  age,  doubtless  owing 
to  the  hard  life  they  lead,  and  to  the  coarse  food  which  is  not 
suited  to  sustain  life  in  old  age.  They  are  a  peaceable  people. 
They  seldom  wage  war  upon  any  tribe,  though  in  the  past  they 
were  frequently  called  upon  to  make  a  stand  and  protect  their 
cattle  against  raids  of  the  Masai,  and  sometimes  they  have 
had  to  fight  in  order  to  recover  a  woman  who  had  been  seized 
by  some  neighbouring  clan.  On  these  occasions  they  have 
shown  that  they  are  no  cowards  and  can  do  deeds  of  courage 
and  bravery.  They  are  not  an  intelligent  tribe,  but  they 
adhere  tenaciously  to  their  tribal  customs,  especially  to  their 
initiation  rites.  Their  fields  and  cattle  provide  them  with 
sufficient  food  and  clothing,  while  the  care  of  the  cattle 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  crops  supply  men  and  women  with 
mental  and  physical  exercise.  They  have  proved  a  difficult 
people  to  interest  in  religious  matters,  and  they  have  resisted 
past  attempts  to  educate  them.  Such  were  the  people  of  one 
of  the  most  important  tribes,  whom  travellers  in  those  early 
days  had  to  meet,  and  from  whom  they  had  to  obtain  food 
for  themselves  and  their  porters,  as  they  passed  through  the 
Ugogo  plains  into  the  interior  of  Africa. 

The  chiefs  of  Ugogo  soon  learnt  that  they  could  make  con- 
siderable profits  by  taxing  the  travellers  who  passed  through 
their  districts.  Missionaries,  even  more  than  traders,  became 
profitable  prey,  because,  owing  to  their  calling,  they  could 
not  make  their  way  by  force.  Traders,  such  as  Arabs  and 
Swahili,  realising  their  dependence  upon  the  villages  for  food 
and  water,  preferred  to  pay  for  permission  to  pass  through 
the  districts,  rather  than  to  fight,  for  this  might  have  caused 


IV] 


WATER  TAX 


47 


the  people  to  leave  the  neighbourhood  through  which  their 
path  lay.  Water  was  scarce  in  the  dry  season.  The  water- 
holes  depended  upon  the  people  of  the  villages  for  their 
cleansing  and  for  the  clearing  out  of  the  sand,  which  blows 
during  the  long  dry  season  and  soon  fills  them.  Hence  the 
maintenance  of  water-holes  depended  upon  the  presence  of 
resident  villagers,  who  soon  learned  how  necessary  they  were 
to  caravans  passing  through  these  deserts,  and  began  to 
exact  a  toll  from  the  leaders  of  parties,  before  porters  were 
allowed  to  draw  water.  When  these  people  found  that  the 
toll  was  readily  paid,  they  took  a  further  step  and  demanded 
a  tax,  varying  according  to  the  number  of  the  party,  for 
permission  to  pass  through  the  country. 

This  taxation  made  a  journey  through  Ugogo  very  expen- 
sive, and  also  delayed  a  party  considerably,  because  chiefs 
would  often  detain  them  for  four  or  five  days,  striving  to 
obtain  more  goods  for  hongo,  as  the  road  tax  was  termed,  than 
the  leader  was  prepared  to  give.  WTien  travellers  arrived  at 
a  village,  the  water  supply  was  guarded,  and  no  person  was 
allowed  to  draw  from  it,  until  the  chief  had  received  a  suit- 
able gift,  usually  of  cotton  and  print  goods.  Such  a  gift  would 
remove  all  restrictions  in  regard  to  water,  even  though  the 
party  remained  for  several  days.  Should  the  chief  consider 
the  amount  insufficient  for  the  number  of  men  belonging  to 
the  party,  he  would  demand  more,  refusing  permission  to 
the  thirsty  men  to  draw  water  until  his  demand  was  met. 
Some  travellers  have  lost  porters  at  some  of  these  village 
wells,  because  the  men  refused  to  wait  for  the  water  toll  to 
be  paid.  Indeed  one  or  two  Europeans  have  themselves  lost 
their  lives  through  the  indiscretion  of  porters,  who  ran  to 
draw  water,  before  arrangements  had  been  made  with  the 
chief.  In  one  case  the  porters  were  speared,  and  a  free  fight 
followed,  in  which  the  natives  treacherously  killed  the  leader, 
a  missionary,  who  was  trying  to  make  peace. 

After  the  water  tax  had  been  settled,  there  remained  the 
further  question  of  the  road  tax,  hongo,  for  the  necessary 
permission  to  travel  forward.  Several  days  would  be  spent 


48 


WAGOGO  HIGHWAYMEN 


haggling  over  the  amount  to  be  paid.  Even  then  the  road- 
tax  paid  to  a  chief  sufficed  only  for  the  district  of  that 
particular  chief,  and  had  to  be  renewed  with  the  next  chief 
through  whose  district  the  party  passed.  Bundles  of  calico 
were  spread  out,  those  kinds  selected  which  were  thought 
most  suitable,  and  appropriate  quantities  taken  to  the  chief, 
who  would  in  all  probability  ask  for  more.  It  was  therefore 
wise  to  offer  as  little  as  possible  in  the  first  instance,  and 
then  grudgingly  add  to  the  amount,  until  the  avaricious 
chief  was  satisfied.  It  seldom  happened  that  a  chief  accepted 
the  amount  first  offered  to  him.  Thus  a  day  or  two  would 
be  spent  sending  messages  and  doling  out  a  few  more  pieces 
of  print,  one  at  a  time,  until  the  chief  accepted  the  amount 
and  allowed  the  party  to  proceed. 

Porters  were  never  in  a  hurry  to  accomplish  a  journey. 
They  received  their  daily  rations,  and  were  happy  to  remain 
on  the  road  as  long  as  possible,  because  they  were  paid  by  the 
month.  Hence  their  wages  accumulated,  and  they  were  sure 
to  be  paid  when  they  returned  to  the  coast  with  their  time- 
bills  which  they  could  present  to  the  agent.  It  was  difficult  to 
make  them  complete  full  daily  marches.  They  would  stop  in 
an  inhabited  district  on  the  slightest  pretext,  and  propose  to 
camp,  even  though  they  had  been  marching  for  only  a  few 
miles,  or  they  would  urge  what  they  deemed  good  reasons  for 
remaining  in  camp  an  additional  day,  if  food  was  plentiful. 

The  people  of  the  country  soon  discovered  the  craven 
character  of  the  Swahili,  and  how  easily  he  could  be  robbed 
of  his  load,  especially  if  a  straggler,  and  they  were  not  slow 
to  take  advantage  of  this  knowledge.  On  a  march  it  always 
required  tact  and  skill  and  a  firm  hand  to  keep  the  porters 
together.  Otherwise  first  one  and  then  another  would  fall 
out,  under  one  pretext  or  another,  and  sit  down  to  rest, 
never  realising  the  danger  of  being  robbed  or  killed.  Before 
a  party  left  the  vicinity  of  a  village  in  the  early  morning, 
some  warriors  would  not  unfrequently  go  off  to  some  lonely 
place  favourable  to  highwaymen,  and  would  lie  in  hiding. 
They  would  then  spear  any  straggler  and  carry  off  his  load 


PLATE  IV 


GRAVES  OF  BISHOP  PARKER  AND  A.  MACKAY  AT  BUSAMBIRO, 
LAKE  VICTORIA 


THATCHED  FETISH  ROCK  IN  BUSOGA 


PLATE  V 


IV] 


HIGHWAY  ROBBERS 


49 


into  the  forest  and  hide  it,  without  attracting  the  notice  of 
any  member  of  the  travelling  party.  The  absentee  would  not 
be  missed  for  several  hours,  and  then  it  would  be  too  late  to 
render  him  assistance.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  keep  the 
men  well  together,  to  march  in  an  unbroken  line  in  single 
file,  and,  if  any  man  needed  to  stop  for  any  reason,  to  call 
upon  the  whole  party  to  halt,  then  ascertain  the  cause  for 
delay,  and  once  more  move  on  together.  Even  this  pre- 
caution did  not  wholly  remove  the  danger  of  an  attack.  In 
one  case,  after  paying  the  water  and  road  taxes,  we  were 
proceeding  slowly  on  our  journey,  because  the  men  were 
feeling  tired  after  walking  for  four  hours.  The  path  lay 
through  a  long  plain  with  only  a  few  tufts  of  long  grass  on  it, 
and  all  seemed  safe,  when  suddenly  two  or  three  gun  shots 
rang  out,  and  bullets  passed  over  us.  A  halt  was  called,  and 
the  order  given  to  stack  loads  rapidly  and  to  lie  behind  them. 
Some  of  the  men  had  already  dropped  their  loads  and  were 
about  to  rush  off,  and  it  was  only  by  the  prompt  order  to 
stack  loads  and  lie  down,  that  the  whole  party  was  kept 
from  running  away.  This  prompt  action  restored  the  con- 
fidence of  the  men,  who  then  returned  the  fire  in  the  direction 
of  a  clump  of  grass,  from  which  the  shots  had  come,  as  could 
be  seen  from  the  smoke.  Our  attitude  showed  the  highwaymen 
that  we  were  not  going  to  run  away  and  leave  our  goods;  so 
they  fled,  and  we  were  able  to  resume  our  march  after  a  short 
delay,  and  reached  camp  without  further  incident.  No  one 
had  been  hurt,  which  was  fortunate.  Usually  these  highway- 
men pick  out  some  man  and  with  unerring  aim  bring  him 
down.  Owing  to  the  suddenness  of  the  attack  and  the  panic 
caused  by  the  death  of  the  man,  they  are  often  able  to  carry 
off  one  or  two  of  the  most  valuable-looking  loads. 

On  another  occasion  the  party  was  passing  along  a  narrow 
winding  path  through  a  belt  of  scrub.  We  had  turned  a  bend 
in  the  path  which  hid  some  of  the  men  from  view,  when  a 
sound  like  that  of  a  galloping  horse  was  heard.  A  halt  was 
called,  and  some  of  us  ran  back  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the 
noise,  when  we  encountered  some  of  the  porters  making  a 


50 


UG0G0  PLAINS 


[CH. 


stampede  and  dropping  their  loads.  This  was  the  noise  which 
we  had  heard.  The  hindermost  men  were  attacked  by  a  small 
party  of  highwaymen,  who  used  their  spears,  seized  the  loads, 
and  dragged  them  quickly  along  the  ground  into  the  scrub. 
It  appeared  that  several  spears  had  been  thrown  and  had 
struck  loads  which  men  were  carrying,  whereupon  they  threw 
them  down  and  bolted  for  their  lives.  Our  return  prevented 
some  of  the  loads  being  carried  off,  and  we  were  able  to  rescue 
several  more,  which  were  abandoned  by  the  robbers  in  the 
bushes,  when  they  saw  us  coming.  Such  occasions  need  a  calm 
bearing  and  prompt  action  to  inspire  the  men  with  confidence 
and  save  the  party.  Highwaymen  will  retreat  when  they  see 
a  European  coming  forward,  but  they  always  expect  to  see 
porters  flee  and  leave  their  loads.  Our  losses  on  this  occasion 
were  restricted  to  barter  goods.  Six  bales  of  these  were  carried 
off,  but  again  fortunately  no  porter  was  wounded.  The  Swahili 
porter  is  always  ready  to  throw  down  his  load  and  flee,  when 
there  is  the  appearance  of  danger ;  and  it  is  necessary  for  the 
leader  to  be  in  the  rear  of  the  party,  where  he  can  see  all  his 
men  and  control  their  actions.  This  craven  fear  of  the  Swahili 
may  possibly  be  due  to  his  former  experience,  when  he  was 
captured  by  the  Arabs  and  made  a  slave,  or  to  the  harsh 
treatment  which  he  commonly  receives  from  his  masters. 

In  Ugogo  there  are  two  long  waterless  plains,  which  in 
the  past  were  the  most  dreaded  portion  of  the  entire  journey 
of  eight  hundred  miles  from  the  coast  to  Lake  Victoria. 
Why  some  other  way  had  not  been  discovered,  with  water 
at  easy  stages,  it  is  difficult  to  say.  True,  time  was  saved 
by  the  straight  path  through  the  desert;  but  the  waterless 
tracts  were  on  the  route  usually  followed,  and  they  had  to  be 
faced  and  crossed.  In  the  longer  of  the  two  plains  there  are 
two  deep  wells.  It  is  said  that  they  were  dug  by  a  pastoral 
people  (Wataturu)  who  once  inhabited  that  part  of  the 
country  with  their  herds,  but  who  have  retired  to  some 
more  congenial  district,  leaving,  as  a  great  boon  to  travellers 
the  deep  wells,  which  have  never  been  known  to  run  dry.  The 
desert  in  each  case  consists  of  sandy  soil  on  which  are  clumps 


IV] 


WATERLESS  MARCHES 


51 


of  scrub  with  leafless  branches,  and  acacias  with  their  thorny 
spikes.  On  all  sides  there  is  parched  ground  with  nothing  but 
glittering  sand.  Even  the  dry  blades  of  grass  are  in  most 
cases  broken  off  and  blown  away  by  the  hot  winds. 

The  first  plain  cannot  be  more  than  forty  miles  across, 
but  is  more  than  porters  attempt  to  accomplish  in  one  march, 
and,  as  the  heat  is  intense,  they  prefer  to  do  most  of  the 
walk  in  the  cool  of  the  day  or  by  night.  When  parties  enter 
this  waterless  tract,  it  is  usual  to  make  a  stop  and  rest  on 
the  border  where  there  is  water,  until  two  or  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  when,  after  a  good  meal,  the  men  fill  their 
gourds  with  water,  shoulder  their  loads,  and  step  out  briskly 
for  the  long  walk.  In  our  case  we  had  been  delayed  an  hour 
or  two  by  a  native  from  the  interior,  who,  with  his  wife  and 
one  male  companion,  had  joined  our  party  near  the  coast, 
and  wished  to  accompany  us  through  the  plains.  He  had 
journeyed  with  us  in  safety  through  Ugogo,  and  was  anxious 
not  to  be  left  behind.  At  one  o'clock  he  came  to  ask  whether 
we  could  wait  a  little  longer  as  his  wife  had  just  been  confined, 
but  he  said  that  she  would  be  ready  to  go  on  in  an  hour's  time. 
To  our  surprise  she  not  only  walked  on  these  trying  marches, 
but  also  carried  her  baby  and  a  small  load  of  camp  goods  for 
her  husband,  while  he  carried  her  load  together  with  his  own. 
We  commenced  our  journey  about  two  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and  continued  to  march  until  it  was  too  dark  to  go  on. 
The  men  were  by  that  time  so  tired  that  they  dropped  their 
loads  and  lay  down  beside  them,  to  get  what  rest  they  could. 
We  Europeans  had  a  brief  meal,  made  tea  from  the  water  which 
we  carried,  and  lay  down  on  the  sand  to  sleep,  until  the  call 
for  renewed  marching  awoke  us,  when  the  party  scrambled  to 
their  feet  and  set  off  again  in  the  dim  light  of  the  moon.  We 
followed  the  leader  who,  more  by  instinct  than  by  sight, 
seemed  to  know  the  road  over  the  waste  of  sand,  and  managed 
to  lead  us  towards  the  inhabited  country  over  the  desert. 
When  morning  broke,  there  was  still  some  distance  to  be 
traversed  before  we  should  reach  our  camp  and  water.  So 
after  a  short  rest,  and  a  little  more  refreshment  with  hot 


4—2 


52 


DEATH  FROM  THIRST 


[CH. 


coffee,  we  began  the  most  trying  part  of  the  journey.  It  was 
the  worst  part,  because  the  strength  of  the  men  had  begun 
to  give  out;  they  drank  their  water  and  wanted  to  rest 
frequently,  and  some  of  them  begged  to  be  left  behind  to 
die,  as  they  felt  unable  to  continue  the  march. 

Sickly  and  feeble  porters  suffer  dreadfully  during  these 
forced  marches.  Some  of  them  are  so  imprudent  as  to 
commence  the  march  across  the  desert  without  any  water, 
and  others  soon  drink  the  little  which  they  have  taken  at 
the  outset.  On  these  dreary  marches  the  European  leader 
needs  to  keep  a  sharp  watch  over  his  headmen,  as  they  will 
sell  small  cups  of  water  for  exorbitant  prices.  On  one 
occasion  a  porter  was  offering  to  pay  a  whole  month's  wages 
for  a  gourd  containing  two  pints  of  water,  and  on  another 
occasion,  when  the  headman  had  refused  to  sell  the  water 
which  he  had,  a  porter  tried  to  sell  himself  as  a  slave  for  one 
drink  from  a  gourd  which  he  carried.  The  most  satisfactory 
method  we  found  was  to  pay  two  or  three  of  the  best  walkers 
a  small  sum  to  hurry  on  to  the  wells  with  their  loads,  to 
deposit  them  in  charge  of  one  of  their  number,  and  to  return 
with  water  for  those  who  had  failed  through  thirst  to  make 
progress.  This  plan  undoubtedly  saved  several  lives.  It  was 
no  uncommon  sight  to  see  skeletons  of  men  lying  on  the  path 
where  they  had  fallen  down  and  died  from  want  of  water. 
At  one  place  we  saw  a  dead  man  lying  with  his  load  of  cowry- 
shells  only  two  or  three  miles  from  water. 

The  most  pitiable  sight  was  by  the  wells  known  as  the 
Watuturu  wells,  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  larger  desert. 
Hither  porters  and  travellers  had  dragged  themselves,  and 
then  had  found  no  means  of  drawing  the  water  which  was 
some  twelve  or  more  feet  below  the  surface.  Thus  they  had 
died  from  thirst  close  to  the  wells.  On  one  journey  through 
these  deserts,  when  we  reached  these  wells,  we  discovered  the 
body  of  a  man  in  the  water,  and  as  the  wells  are  connected  by 
a  tunnel,  all  the  water  was  contaminated.  Evidently  the  man 
had  fallen  into  the  well  when  trying  to  reach  the  water.  We 
were  forced  to  drink  the  foul  liquid  or  to  go  without.  It  was  too 


IV] 


CATTLE  PLAGUE 


53 


smelly  to  bathe  in,  but  by  boiling  it,  and  disguising  it  with 
tea,  we  were  able  to  swallow  it.  Some  cows  travelling  with  us 
refused  to  drink  the  water.  People  little  realise  what  they  can 
drink,  until  sorely  pressed  by  thirst  in  a  tropical  country. 
On  another  occasion  the  only  water  obtainable  at  a  camping 
ground  was  so  thick  and  muddy  that  only  half  a  tea-cupful 
dripped  through  a  piece  of  cambric,  through  which  it  was  left 
to  filter  during  the  night.  Sometimes  a  slimy  green  growth 
had  to  be  pressed  down  to  obtain  water  from  a  water-hole. 
These  are  extreme  cases,  which  fortunately  do  not  often  occur 
and  then  only  at  the  end  of  the  dry  season.  Generally  there  is 
water  enough  for  every  man;  food  also  of  a  kind  can  be 
obtained,  though  it  may  not  be  the  most  palatable  to  the 
refined  English  taste. 

It  is  a  matter  of  interest  and  wonder  to  an  observant 
traveller  to  see  the  large  herds  of  cattle  which  the  Wagogo 
and  Wasakuma  possess,  looking  so  well  and  in  such  excellent 
condition  during  the  dry  season,  when  there  is  no  pasturage  to 
be  seen  but  burnt  up  grass.  It  may  be  that  there  are  other 
grounds  for  pasturage,  where  the  animals  can  find  more  to  eat 
than  on  the  plains  near  the  villages.  The  people  say  that  there 
is  nothing  but  the  same  dry  grass  in  the  district.  All  the  wild 
animals  leave  these  regions  when  the  water  dries  up,  and  make 
for  the  well-watered  land,  where  green  grass  can  be  obtained. 

In  the  year  1890  the  cattle  plague  was  by  some  inadvertence 
introduced  into  this  part  of  Africa,  and  spread  with  alarming 
rapidity  into  the  interior.  Within  a  short  time  there  were 
thousands  of  dead  cattle  lying  about  in  Ugogo  and  Usakuma, 
far  too  numerous  for  the  wild  scavenger  animals  to  devour, 
and  no  attempt  was  made  by  the  people  of  the  districts  to  bury 
or  destroy  the  decaying  carcases.  The  smell  near  any  village 
wherever  animals  had  crawled  and  died  and  had  been  left  by 
the  natives  to  decompose  was  beyond  description.  It  was 
horrible  to  have  to  pass  such  places.  The  wonder  was  that 
the  people  did  not  suffer  from  an  epidemic  of  typhoid.  For 
years  afterwards  bones  lay  about,  bleaching  and  crumbling 
in  the  sun,  marking  what  had  been  the  chief  cattle  centres. 


54  THE  UNYAMWEZI  COUNTRY  [ch. 


It  was  this  cattle  plague  that  reduced  the  Masai  to  want, 
and  broke  their  haughty  spirit.  All  pastoral  peoples  were 
forced  to  resort  to  vegetable  diet,  or  to  die,  and  the  Masai 
endeavoured  to  make  friends  with  agricultural  peoples  whom 
they  had  previously  despised,  in  order  to  obtain  from  them 
the  means  of  existence.  A  few  cows  were  saved  in  different 
places,  and  these  became  a  stock  for  replenishing  the  country, 
which  is  again  fairly  well  supplied.  Even  of  wild  animals 
numbers  died  from  the  plague,  and  for  several  years  after 
it  had  ended  there  were  few  buffaloes  to  be  found. 

When  the  Ugogo  plains  are  left  behind,  two  new  tribes  of 
people  are  encountered,  the  Wanyamwezi,  who  inhabit  the 
country  from  Ugogo  to  the  south  of  Lake  Victoria,  with 
their  cousins  the  Wasakuma,  who  occupy  the  country  on 
the  east  shores  of  Lake  Victoria.  Both  these  large  tribes 
are  pure  Bantu.  At  one  time  they  were  governed  by  the 
powerful  king  Mirambo,  who  lived  near  Lake  Tanganyika, 
and  in  whose  country  Livingstone  died.  On  the  death  of  king 
Mirambo  the  two  tribes  separated,  and  they  have  since  been 
governed  by  local  chiefs,  who  have  no  power  outside  their 
limited  spheres  of  country.  From  these  two  tribes  the 
strongest  and  best  porters  of  East  Africa  are  to  be  obtained. 
For  many  years  past  large  numbers  of  men  and  women 
have  carried  heavy  loads  of  ivory  to  the  coast  and  driven 
down  herds  of  fat  cattle  for  sale,  bringing  in  return  bales  of 
calico  and  prints,  together  with  firearms  of  a  primitive  kind, 
and  ammunition.  Travellers  must  often  have  thought  that 
the  obsolete  firearms  of  every  European  nation  were  sent 
over  for  these  people.  Here  could  be  found  the  earliest  kind 
of  firelock  and  of  percussion  cap  guns;  and  in  later  times  new 
batches  of  breech-loading  guns  arrived,  as  one  particular  type 
was  superseded  by  some  other  kind,  and  the  former  were 
discarded  by  the  military  authorities  of  European  nations. 
For  many  years  firearms  were  the  principal  article  for  barter 
used  by  Arabs  foi  the  purchase  of  slaves;  and  in  some  parts 
of  the  country  a  peaceable  traveller  could  not  obtain  food  or 
any  other  needful  article,  unless  he  had  ammunition  for  sale. 


IV] 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  USAKUMA 


55 


Little  is  known  of  either  the  Wanyamwezi  or  the  Wasakuma 
tribes  beyond  their  great  power  for  carrying  loads.  Many 
of  the  men  would  comfortably  carry  two  of  the  largest  ever 
carried  by  Swahili  porters,  and  march  along  at  the  head  of 
the  party,  singing  cheerfully.  The  villages  in  which  these 
people  live,  are  much  larger  and  appear  more  prosperous 
than  those  nearer  the  coast.  Their  houses  are  round  huts 
with  conical  roofs.  They  are  clustered  together  within  a 
strongly  fenced  compound,  obviously  intended  for  protection 
against  hostile  tribes.  The  people  are  kindly  disposed;  they 
are  pleased  to  see  visitors,  and  welcome  porters  to  whom  they 
can  sell  food.  Their  mode  of  life  is  simple ;  they  live  almost 
entirely  upon  grain  foods,  meat,  whether  of  wild  or  domestic 
animals,  being  a  luxury  not  often  enjoyed.  They  are  the  most 
musical  of  all  the  Bantu  tribes  met  with  from  the  coast  to 
Lake  Victoria.  Their  music  is  vocal,  instruments  of  any  kind 
being  rarely  found.  When  on  journeys  as  porters,  they  are 
fond  of  singing  round  songs,  as  they  sit  by  their  fires  in  the 
evening.  The  effect  is  most  pleasing,  and  in  the  distance  it 
sounds  as  though  they  were  well  trained,  bass  and  tenor 
voices  being  found  among  the  performers. 

On  the  borders  of  Usakuma,  and  often  intermingling  with 
the  Wasakuma,  are  to  be  found  the  pastoral  people,  Watuturu, 
who  also  grow  a  little  corn,  though  their  chief  food  is  milk, 
and  their  herdsmen  are  nomadic.  The  elderly  men  and  women 
have  settled  homes  and  carry  on  a  little  agriculture,  especially 
the  cultivation  of  millet.  In  appearance  the  Watuturu  are 
more  like  the  people  of  Ankole.  It  is  possible  that  they  are  a 
branch  of  those  pastoral  tribes.  They  are  said  to  wander  about 
the  south  end  of  Lake  Victoria,  where  there  are  many  springs 
of  water,  and  the  grass  is  good  and  abundant  for  their  herds. 

The  Victoria  Nyanza  can  be  seen  some  miles  before  it  is 
reached.  In  the  distance,  viewed  from  a  hill  ten  or  twenty 
miles  away,  it  looks  somewhat  like  a  white  cloud  owing  to  the 
bright  light  reflected  from  it.  No  doubt  many  people  have 
mistaken  its  dazzling  waters  for  mist,  as  they  glittered  in  the 
bright  sunshine.  Near  the  shores  of  this  mighty  inland  sea, 


56 


LAKE  SCENERY 


[CH.  IV 


on  its  eastern  side,  there  is  to  be  found  a  belt  of  green  grass 
and  of  trees  always  in  leaf,  which  abounds  with  animal  life, 
from  the  elephant  and  hippopotamus  to  the  mouse,  and  from 
the  huge  eagle  and  swan  to  the  tiny  humming-bird,  more 
like  a  butterfly  than  a  bird.  There  are  land-birds  and  water- 
birds,  as  there  are  land-  and  water-animals,  and  reptiles,  both 
the  most  beautiful  and  the  most  loathsome ;  and,  as  the  variety 
of  birds  and  beasts  is  great,  so  also  is  their  food  supply.  At  one 
camp  overlooking  the  lake  we  saw  a  cow  hippopotamus  dis- 
porting herself  in  the  water  with  her  calf  standing  on  her  back. 
She  was  rising  and  spouting  up  the  water,  and  then  sinking 
from  sight  for  a  time,  soon  to  reappear  and  snort.  Anon  lazy 
crocodiles  floated  about  on  the  surface  of  the  water  or  basked 
at  full  length  on  some  rocky  island.  After  the  weary  waterless 
tracks  through  which  we  had  marched,  it  was  most  refreshing 
and  delightful  to  gaze  upon  so  much  water  and  life,  to 
breathe  in  long  draughts  of  fragrant  air  after  the  scorching 
atmosphere  from  the  Ugogo  plains,  or  to  lounge  comfortably 
in  our  tents  and  hear  the  hum  of  insects,  the  notes  of  birds, 
and  the  ripple  of  water.  It  certainly  needed  the  dark  figures 
of  the  men  and  boys,  to  keep  the  mind  from  thinking  that 
it  was  some  beautiful  spot  in  Europe  seen  in  fancy — a  picture 
of  a  summer's  day. 


CHAPTER  V 


TRAVELLING  BY  CANOE  ON  LAKE  VICTORIA— A  STORM- 
WRECKED  CANOES— HOSPITALITY  OF  THE  BAGANDA— 
RAVAGES  MADE  BY  SLEEPING  SICKNESS 

FEW  travellers,  perhaps  it  is  safe  to  say  none  who  have 
not  traversed  it,  have  any  idea  of  the  vast  extent  of 
the  waters  of  Victoria  Nyanza.  As  an  expanse  of  water  its 
dimensions  surpass  those  of  a  lake;  it  is  really  an  inland  sea. 
Under  normal  conditions  it  is  smooth  and  calm,  with  scarcely 
a  ripple  on  its  surface;  but  when  strong  winds  blow,  and 
gales  sweep  over  its  surface,  waves  rapidly  rise,  which  make 
even  the  large  steamers  of  these  later  days  roll  and  pitch 
in  an  uncomfortable  manner.  A  friend  who  had  spent  many 
years  of  his  life  in  the  Navy,  said  that  he  never  knew  what 
sea-sickness  was,  until  he  came  to  travel  in  his  steamer 
on  Lake  Victoria  and  was  in  a  storm.  The  size  of  the  lake 
has  been  well  compared  to  that  Scotland,  and  this  com- 
parison gives  a  good  idea  of  its  area.  It  is  certainly  a  large 
sheet  of  water  with  many  interesting  and  picturesque  islands 
in  it.  In  former  years  these  were  thickly  peopled,  but  the 
ravages  of  sleeping  sickness  have  cleared  off  almost  the  whole 
population. 

Some  of  the  islands  are  five  miles  long  and  nearly  as 
wide,  while  one  island  in  the  north  of  the  lake  is  more  than 
double  that  length  and  breadth ;  others  are  merely  pointed 
rocks,  jutting  out  of  the  water,  without  a  blade  of  grass  or 
as  much  earth  on  them  as  would  grow  a  mustard  seed.  Such 
rocks  are  resting  places  for  water-birds,  especially  for  fish 
eagles  and  ducks;  other  islands  are  the  homes  of  crocodiles 
and  large  water-lizards.  The  water  is  beautifully  fresh,  and 
appears  most  pleasing  to  the  eye  of  the  traveller  after  the 
long  stretches  of  desert  sand.  It  is  also  sweet  to  the  taste, 
especially  after  the  muddy  pools  from  which  he  has  had 
to  drink,  at  times  even  paying  large  sums  of  money  for  a  pail 


58 


HOSTILE  KINGS 


[CH. 


of  dirty  slush.  The  lake  is  an  attractive  sight,  as  it  flashes 
and  ripples  in  the  warm  sunshine,  with  its  fringe  of  never 
fading  trees  with  their  shades  of  green  lighted  up  with  the 
bright  colours  of  tropical  flowers,  or  the  beautiful  water  plants 
and  lilies  floating  gracefully  in  shallow  water.  There  is  also 
the  charm  of  the  music  of  many  birds  as  they  flit  about, 
brightening  the  scene  with  their  exquisitely  coloured 
plumage;  and  the  larger  birds,  as  they  stand  on  rocks  or 
branches  of  trees  with  extended  wings,  dry  their  feathers 
after  a  spell  of  work  in  the  water,  and  at  times  give  a  drowsy 
call  of  encouragement  to  their  more  energetic  brethren  who 
are  still  engaged  in  fishing  near  by.  The  past  weary  marches 
through  wastes  of  sand  seem  more  like  a  bad  dream,  as  this 
lovely  scene  floats  before  the  gaze  of  the  traveller ;  or  he  may 
think  that  this  is  the  dream,  and  the  other  the  reality  to  be 
again  endured,  and  he  needs  to  rouse  himself  and  realise  that 
he  is  not  sleeping,  and  that  things  are  really  what  they  appear 
before  his  eyes. 

When  Mutesa  was  king  of  Uganda  in  the  year  1870  and 
afterwards,  and  Mirambo  was  king  of  Unyamwezi,  this  huge 
lake  formed  a  natural  barrier  which  kept  two  of  the  most 
powerful  and  ambitious  potentates  of  Central  Africa  apart; 
the  one  never  invaded  the  kingdom  of  the  other.  Though 
threats  were  often  uttered,  the  lake  proved  to  be  a  safe 
barrier.  In  his  most  prosperous  days  Mutesa  is  said  to  have 
shaken  his  fist  over  the  waters  at  his  rival,  and  to  have 
threatened  him  with  invasion;  but  it  ended  with  a  shake  of 
the  fist  and  a  wag  of  the  tongue,  for  neither  king  ever 
attempted  to  send  an  expedition  round  the  lake  to  invade  the 
territory  of  the  other,  and  it  was  too  great  a  task  to  furnish 
canoes  to  carry  an  adequate  army  across  miles  of  water. 

The  lake  on  the  western  and  north-eastern  sides  is  sur- 
rounded by  hills  and  high  land,  though  there  are  spots  with 
gently  rising  plains,  which  give  the  impression  of  being  almost 
level  with  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  water  itself  stands 
4300  feet  above  sea  level.  In  some  places  the  hills  run  down  to 
the  shore,  and  end  abruptly  in  sheer  precipices  with  rocky  faces 


v] 


THE  RIPON  FALLS 


59 


rising  over  a  hundred  feet  from  the  water.  These  are  often 
covered  with  green  moss,  while  ferns  and  plants  with  beautiful 
foliage  find  root-hold  in  places  where  water  trickles  down  to 
the  lake.  The  lake  is  fed  by  several  large  rivers  and  numbers 
of  smaller  streams.  Of  the  larger  rivers  the  Katonga  on  the 
west  and  the  Nzoia  in  the  north  may  be  said  to  be  the 
greatest.  Each  of  these  drains  large  tracts  of  country,  and  is 
ever  pouring  volumes  of  water  into  this  mighty  lake.  Here  too 
we  find  the  source  of  the  Nile,  its  beginning  being  the  rocky 
overflow  of  the  lake  known  as  the  Ripon  Falls.  These  falls 
are  disappointing  to  anyone  who  visits  them  expecting  to 
see  water  dropping  from  a  vast  height  into  a  ravine.  There 
is  nothing  of  the  kind  to  be  found.  But  the  falls  are  most 
wonderful  and  interesting  owing  to  the  volume  of  water 
which  rushes  over  the  rocky  outlet,  and  boils  up  in  the  huge 
stone  caldron  below,  with  a  deafening  roar,  as  the  water  rises 
nearly  to  the  height  of  the  overflow  itself,  and  then  falls  away 
in  its  stony  path  on  its  passage  to  Egypt. 

The  width  of  the  outlet  from  the  lake  is  about  half  a  mile. 
It  is  divided  into  four  parts  by  mighty  rocks  standing  out  of 
the  water,  looking  as  though  they  might  some  day  be  washed 
over  into  the  pool  below.  The  water  above  the  falls  looks 
smooth  and  calm,  and  it  is  difficult  to  realise  that  the  current 
is  at  all  strong,  indeed  its  strength  can  only  be  judged  by 
objects  on  the  surface  when  near  to  the  rocks,  where  the  water 
can  be  seen  to  be  rushing  at  a  great  speed  over  the  falls.  The 
actual  drop  of  the  water  can  be  little  more  than  a  hundred 
feet,  because  it  is  churned  up  in  the  rocky  basin,  and  rises  to 
a  considerable  height  as  it  meets  the  torrent  from  the  lake. 
Birds  and  fishes  are  fascinating  at  this  spot.  Shoals  of  trout 
may  be  seen  under  the  lee  of  the  projecting  rocks,  making 
frantic  efforts  to  gain  the  upper  waters,  jumping  up  the  rocks 
and  being  washed  back  again.  Sometimes  one  of  them  by  a 
mighty  bound  reaches  the  upper  waters,  and  begins  its 
struggle  with  the  current,  and  is  lost  to  sight;  or  again  some 
large  fish  may  be  seen  in  the  stream  of  the  upper  water,  making 
desperate  efforts  to  escape  from  the  rushing  current,  leaping 


6o 


LIFE  AT  THE  RIPON  FALLS  [ch. 


from  the  water  and  trying  to  regain  the  lake,  but  being 
carried  surely  nearer  the  falls  and  finally  being  washed  over 
into  the  seething  mass  and  possibly  stunned  or  killed  as  it 
falls.  Besides  this  deeply  interesting  study  of  fish,  diver  birds 
may  be  seen  hovering  over  the  turbulent  waters.  One  will 
make  a  rapid  plunge  into  the  boiling  water.  This  appears 
to  the  onlooker  to  be  certain  death,  but  in  a  few  minutes 
it  may  be  seen  coming  up  in  the  far  distance  with  a  fish 
in  its  beak,  while  it  is  rocked  about  on  the  waves  and  carried 
down  stream  like  a  small  cork  on  the  troubled  surface.  Again 
a  hovering  diver  will  make  a  plunge  into  the  current  above 
the  falls,  and  be  carried  over  into  the  rough  water;  and  the 
onlooker  thinks  its  career  must  be  ended,  but  it  comes  up 
below  the  falls,  oblivious  of  the  current,  with  its  prey,  and 
gracefully  rides  to  one  side  of  the  stream  into  calmer  water, 
or  rises  and  calmly  flies  to  some  tree  near  by,  to  eat  its  meal 
and  rest,  before  making  another  descent  into  the  rough 
waters. 

It  is  indeed  a  picturesque  scene  with  ever  changing  life 
of  the  most  fascinating  character.  The  observer  finds  it 
entrancing  on  a  warm  day  to  sit  in  the  shade  and  look  on. 
The  roar  of  the  water  can  be  heard  two  or  three  miles  away 
during  the  night,  more  especially  when  one  is  in  bed,  and 
everything  is  quiet.  There  were  formerly  a  number  of  Baganda 
fishermen  at  these  falls,  who  made  a  living  by  catching  the 
fish  that  came  over  the  falls  and  were  killed.  With  the  ever 
increasing  rush  of  Western  activities  into  Uganda,  these 
fishermen  seem  to  have  been  carried  away  into  the  whirlpool 
of  a  more  lucrative  trade,  and  have  left  this  peaceful  life  and 
the  thunder  of  the  many  waters. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  islands  are  a  distinct  race  from  the 
people  on  the  mainland.  They  divide  themselves  into  three 
distinct  groups:  the  people  on  the  islands  in  the  northern 
waters  of  the  lake  are  known  as  Bavuma,  those  occupying 
the  islands  and  the  shore  of  the  central  and  greater  part  of  the 
lake  are  known  as  Basese,  and  those  in  the  south  are  known 
as  the  people  of  Karagwe.  In  many  respects  these  people 


v] 


ISLAND  TRIBES 


61 


are  closely  allied  to  each  other,  and  at  one  time  they  may  have 
been  members  of  the  same  tribe,  who  were  isolated  from  each 
other  through  difficulties  of  travel  and  communication,  but 
I  am  unaware  of  any  careful  investigation  on  this  subject 
having  been  made.  The  Basese,  after  they  were  subjugated 
by  the  Baganda,  became  enemies  of  the  other  inhabitants  of 
the  islands.  They  are  all  fisherfolk,  those  in  the  north  and 
midlake  being  experts  in  canoe  building,  while  as  sailors  they 
also  possess  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  geography  and 
physical  features  of  the  lake,  most  valuable  in  navigating 
the  waters.  For  many  years  after  Europeans  had  settled  in 
Uganda,  the  Bavuma  held  aloof  from  all  efforts  on  the  part 
of  the  English  to  reach  them  and  to  make  friends  with  them. 
They  resented  any  attempts  made  to  land  on  their  islands. 
This  attitude  was  doubtless  due  to  former  attempts  on  the 
part  of  the  Baganda  to  subdue  them  and  to  rule  over  them. 

Mutesa,  king  of  Uganda,  made  several  futile  efforts  to 
take  the  island  of  the  Bavuma,  and  sent  one  or  two  large 
expeditions  against  it,  but  the  Bavuma  were  successful  in 
each  case  in  preventing  the  canoes  from  landing.  The  natives 
stood  on  the  heights  to  defend  their  island.  Some  concealed 
themselves  in  bushes  near  the  water,  and  cast  stones  from 
slings  with  such  great  accuracy  and  damaging  effect,  that 
they  drove  the  canoes  away  with  many  of  their  occupants 
wounded.  It  was  not  until  the  British  had  been  resident  for 
some  time  in  Uganda,  that  this  large  island  was  subdued,  and 
the  inhabitants  learned  to  regard  the  British  as  friends  and 
not  foes.  Previously  to  their  subjugation,  it  was  never  safe 
for  canoes  to  travel  in  the  vicinity  of  the  island,  but  they 
were  always  subject  to  attacks.  For  many  years  the  Basese 
have  been  regarded  as  belonging  to  Uganda,  though  they  are 
inferior  to  the  Baganda  in  physique  and  in  intelligence.  The 
Baganda  are  inclined  to  despise  these  fisherfolk,  and  marriages 
between  the  two  tribes  have  been  few  in  number. 

The  Basese  have  kept  themselves  to  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  lake.  A  journey  to  the  capital  was  until 
recently  with  some  of  the  inhabitants  the  event  of  a  lifetime ; 


62 


LAKE  CANOES 


[CH. 


many  had  never  been  more  than  a  mile  inland  for  any  purpose  ; 
while  numbers  of  them  had  not  even  visited  the  mainland,  and 
these  had  most  extraordinary  ideas  of  the  king  and  his  court. 
They  lived  and  died  on  islands  three  or  four  miles  long  and  two 
miles  wide,  and,  with  the  exception  of  visits  to  neighbouring 
islands,  never  left  their  homes.  It  was  from  the  Basese  that 
the  Baganda  obtained  their  canoes  and  crews,  and  it  was  by 
the  skill  of  these  fishermen  in  the  navigation  of  the  lake, 
that  they  were  able  to  subdue  the  people  on  the  more  distant 
islands,  and  to  convey  their  warriors  rapidly  against  their 
foes  on  the  southern  shores  of  the  lake.  The  Basese,  Bavuma, 
and  Basoga  build  the  largest  and  finest  canoes  of  all  the  people 
in  the  lake  district.  They  also  build  the  largest  and  best 
"  dugout "  canoes  in  this  region  for  the  ferries  of  the  Nile  and 
of  the  arms  of  the  lake.  In  the  south  of  the  lake  the  people 
on  the  large  island  Karagwe  are  more  of  the  type  of  the 
Wasakuma  than  of  the  Basese.  Their  knowledge  of  the  lake 
is  limited,  and  their  canoes  are  small  and  poorly  built,  while 
all  their  trade  and  intercourse  have  been  with  the  Wasakuma. 
The  scarcity  of  good  timber  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  lake 
may  possibly  be  a  cause  of  the  smallness  of  the  canoes. 

The  canoes  of  the  Basese  are  built  in  sections;  a  large 
tree  forms  the  keel,  so  shaped  that  it  is  hollowed  on  the 
upper  side  with  thin  edges  and  fitted  to  join  on  to  the  side 
boards,  while  the  under  side  is  rounded.  This  keel  projects 
beyond  the  bows  about  four  feet  so  as  to  form  a  ram.  There 
are  two  boards,  one  above  the  other  on  each  side  of  the  canoe, 
each  board  being  fourteen  or  more  inches  wide.  These  are  kept 
in  position  by  stout  stretchers  placed  across  the  canoe;  the 
boards  rest  one  on  the  other  and  are  stitched  together.  The 
stretchers  are  used  by  the  paddlers  as  seats.  No  iron  is 
used  for  nails  or  bolts  in  building  a  canoe;  stitching  is  the 
only  means  used  to  secure  the  boards.  All  the  joints  are 
made  watertight  by  caulking  them  with  tow  and  thin  strips 
of  wood.  The  king  of  Uganda  kept  some  six  or  eight  large 
canoes  at  a  port  four  or  five  miles  distant  from  his  capital. 
This  landing  place  was  known  as  the  King's  Port.  Leading 


v] 


ROYAL  BEARERS 


63 


to  it,  he  had  a  private  road  along  which  none  but  the  most 
privileged  of  his  subjects  were  allowed  to  pass  on  pain  of 
death.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  go  at  pleasure  to  the  lake 
and  spend  some  time  on  the  water,  without  attracting  the 
attention  of  any  of  his  chiefs,  and  without  their  even  knowing 
that  he  was  absent  from  his  capital. 

The  king  never  walked  when  outside  his  enclosure.  He 
was  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  a  strong  man,  and  he  had 
always  a  number  of  such  men  near  him.  They  lived  in  the 
royal  enclosure.  The  king  would  call  for  several  of  these 
men,  when  he  wished  to  visit  the  lake,  and  they  would  carry 
him  off  at  a  rapid  rate,  first  one  and  then  another  taking 
turns,  as  they  grew  tired  of  carrying  his  Majesty.  They  would 
change  bearers  without  allowing  the  king's  feet  to  touch  the 
ground. 

The  Basese  are  the  fishermen  of  the  kingdom  of  Uganda. 
Each  Muganda  chief  had  certain  estates,  either  on  the  shore 
of  the  lake,  or  on  one  of  the  islands,  attached  to  his  chieftain- 
ship, and  his  tenants  on  these  estates  supplied  his  table  with 
fish,  either  fresh  or  dried.  The  fish  thus  supplied  was  given 
instead  of  the  taxes  which  other  tenants  had  to  pay  each  year. 
In  olden  times  the  chief  duties  of  the  Basese  were  to  carry 
troops  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another,  and  to  supply 
fish  for  their  over-lords;  but  as  soon  as  king  Mutesa  opened 
up  the  trade  with  the  south  shore,  and  Arab  and  Swahili 
traders  began  to  enter  Uganda,  canoes  were  used  to  convey 
these  men  and  their  goods  into  the  country.  This  method  of 
travel  saved  a  long  journey  round  the  lake  through  the 
territory  of  hostile  tribes. 

The  king  made  the  traders  pay  for  the  use  of  the  canoes 
and  also  charged  an  import  duty  on  the  goods  which  they 
sold.  Suna,  the  father  of  Mutesa,  was  the  first  king  to  send 
a  few  canoes  to  the  south  shore  of  the  lake ;  but  during  his 
reign  calico  and  cotton  goods  were  not  allowed  to  be  worn  by 
the  common  people,  and  the  Arab  trade  was  limited  mainly 
to  cowry-shells,  firearms,  and  ammunition.  In  Mutesa's  time 
the  restrictions  were  removed  from  cotton  goods,  and  any 


64 


CANOE  EXPERIENCES 


[CH. 


person  was  allowed  to  wear  them.  This  occasioned  a  brisk 
trade  in  such  goods,  and  in  addition  there  began  a  consider- 
able trade  in  slaves  and  ivory  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
firearms  and  ammunition.  My  personal  experience  in  the  use 
of  canoes  began  at  the  south  end  of  the  lake,  when  I  first 
entered  Uganda.  Twelve  canoes  were  sent  to  convey  the 
goods  of  a  party  of  missionaries  over  the  lake  into  Uganda. 
King  Mwanga  had  heard  that  the  party  had  reached  the  lake 
and  needed  canoes  to  convey  them  into  his  country.  The 
canoes  were  of  various  sizes,  most  of  them  small,  though 
they  were  intended  to  carry  several  Europeans  with  their 
goods.  Some  of  the  party,  however,  had  previously  left  by 
other  canoes,  and  one  friend,  the  Rev.  R.  P.  Ashe,  preferred 
to  journey  round  the  lake  and  take  as  many  of  his  goods  as 
possible  with  him.  Thus  the  fleet  of  twelve  canoes  came  to 
be  at  my  own  disposal.  The  larger  canoes  carried  from  twelve 
to  fourteen  loads  each,  while  the  smaller  ones  carried  only  four 
loads,  each  load  being  from  sixty  to  seventy  pounds  weight. 

It  was  a  pleasant  experience  at  first  to  have  nothing  to  do 
but  to  sit  and  look  about  and  note  the  wonders  of  the  lake; 
however,  it  became  somewhat  tedious  after  several  days  to 
be  seated  in  a  cramped  position  in  a  canoe  for  ten  or  twelve 
hours  at  a  time.  As  a  rule  the  canoes  kept  together  during  the 
early  part  of  the  morning,  but  afterwards  the  stronger  crews 
left  the  weaker  ones  behind.  Each  steersman  guided  his 
canoe  from  one  point  of  land  to  another,  seldom  losing  sight 
of  land,  and  never  daring  to  strike  out  across  any  long  stretch 
of  the  lake,  but  steering  a  course  close  to  the  shore,  and  ready, 
when  necessary,  to  make  for  shelter,  if  a  storm  arose.  The 
daily  rule  was  to  make  a  start  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and  to  paddle  steadily  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour  until 
noon,  or  perhaps  until  two  o'clock,  and  then  to  camp  for  the 
night.  The  men  knew  their  camping  grounds,  and  accordingly 
steered  their  canoes  to  them.  When  they  reached  camp,  they 
removed  their  cargoes,  and  dragged  their  canoes  well  up  the 
beach  out  of  the  water,  to  ensure  their  safety  from  any 
hostile  persons  and  to  prevent  them  from  drifting.  They  had 


v] 


TRAVELLING  BY  CANOE 


65 


their  huts  higher  well  out  of  the  reach  of  the  water,  and  when 
they  had  stowed  away  their  loads  and  goods,  they  lay  about 
smoking  or  went  away  fishing. 

Many  of  the  camps  were  made  on  small  uninhabited 
islands;  the  men  chose  these  in  preference  to  the  mainland, 
because  they  were  afraid  of  night  attacks  from  the  inhabitants 
who  were  unfriendly  owing  to  their  having  frequently  carried 
troops  in  the  past  into  the  country.  Canoemen  never  require 
to  buy  food  when  on  these  journeys,  for  they  carry  their  own 
store  of  provisions  and  are  also  able  to  cook  while  still  on 
the  water.  When  a  meal  is  required,  a  man  is  told  to  make 
the  fire  in  an  old  cooking  pot  carried  in  the  bows  of  the^canoe, 
and  to  bake  the  plantains  for  the  party ;  as  they  are  baked, 
he  hands  them  round,  and  each  recipient  rests  from  paddling 
while  he  eats,  and  in  this  way  the  men  have  their  meal  while 
the  canoe  is  kept  moving. 

For  the  first  few  days  the  voyage  was  a  delightful  change 
from  the  constant  walking  through  parched  country;  every- 
thing was  new,  and  the  canoe  songs  were  fascinating,  as  one 
man  chanted  a  refrain,  and  the  chorus  was  taken  up  by  the 
crew  who  kept  time  to  the  song  with  their  paddles.  There 
were  new  birds  and  insects  flitting  about  every  island  and 
near  the  coasts  which  engaged  the  attention,  and  sometimes 
a  crocodile  splashed  from  a  rock  into  the  water,  or  near  the 
land  some  animal  might  be  seen  to  dart  away  into  cover,  so 
adding  to  the  interest  of  the  ever  changing  scenery.  When 
the  canoes  were  near  the  mainland,  monkeys  might  be  seen 
in  the  trees  swinging  from  branch  to  branch  or  performing 
gigantic  leaps  from  one  tree  to  another,  while  their  chattering 
could  be  heard  as  though  they  dared  their  companions  to 
follow  them  in  their  wild  romps  and  rash  leaps.  In  Speke 
Gulf  there  were  fully  twelve  crocodiles  floating  about  like 
logs  of  wood  on  the  surface  of  the  calm  water;  the  canoe- 
men did  not  fear  them,  considering  them  powerless  when  in 
deep  water,  and  only  shaped  their  course  so  as  to  pass  them 
without  making  any  alteration  in  their  main  direction. 
Paddlers  are  sometimes  too  bold  when  near  crocodiles,  and 


R.U 


5 


66 


TRAVELLING  BY  CANOE 


[CH. 


I  have  met  one  or  two  men  who  may  be  still  alive,  who  lost 
an  arm  by  being  seized  by  a  reptile.  It  bit  off  the  arm  when 
trying  to  drag  its  prey  into  the  water ;  the  victim  had  time 
to  grip  his  canoe  and  hold  on  until  his  arm  was  bitten  off. 

Paddlers  sit  facing  the  bows  of  the  canoe  and  spoon  the 
water  with  leaf-blade-shaped  paddles,  and  one  man  sits  in 
the  stern  with  a  paddle  and  steers  the  canoe  by  putting  his 
paddle  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other,  or  sometimes 
by  vigorously  paddling  until  he  brings  the  canoe  into  the 
direction  he  wishes  it  to  go.  When  racing  another  canoe 
the  steersman  usually  paddles  first  on  one  side  of  the  canoe 
and  then  on  the  other,  but  at  other  times  he  may  hold  the 
paddle  in  the  water  and  pull  the  canoe  into  course.  On  the 
voyage  from  Usakuma  to  Uganda  there  are  two  or  three 
long  stretches  of  water  in  which  the  islands  are  so  far  apart, 
that  it  takes  from  ten  to  twelve  hours  to  paddle  across;  to 
coast  round  the  shores  in  these  parts  of  the  lake  would  add 
several  days  to  the  journey  and  be  fraught  with  danger  to 
the  canoemen  from  hostile  natives  on  the  mainland.  These 
long  stretches  of  water  are  often  troublesome  for  canoes  to 
navigate,  and  are  also  most  dangerous,  should  a  storm  break 
upon  the  paddlers  when  they  are  too  far  from  land  to  seek 
shelter.  The  canoes  are  excellent  craft  when  the  water  is 
smooth,  but  they  will  not  bear  the  strain  of  a  rough  sea ; 
the  long  keels  will  break  if  they  are  made  to  ride  the  waves, 
and  there  is  the  danger  of  being  swamped  if  one  is  running 
broadside  to  them.  The  canoes  must,  however,  be  allowed 
to  ride  broadside  to  the  waves  for  safety,  and  consequently 
large  quantities  of  water  are  shipped,  and  unless  several  men 
work  hard  at  baling,  the  canoe  is  soon  water-logged  and 
sinks.  It  is  usually  the  duty  of  one  man  to  keep  a  watch  on 
the  water  in  the  middle  of  the  canoe  and  to  keep  it  baled  out 
with  a  wooden  ladle ;  when,  however,  water  pours  in  over  the 
side,  this  soon  becomes  a  difficult  task,  and  then  the  men  lose 
heart  and  resign  themselves  to  their  fate,  and  are  drowned, 
unless  they  can  be  stimulated  to  work  and  bale  while  others 
paddle. 


v] 


EXPERIENCES  OF  CANOES 


67 


Before  the  journey  over  a  long  stretch  of  water  is  under- 
taken, the  paddlers  make  a  survey  of  the  sky,  and  they  do 
not  start  should  there  be  any  appearance  of  a  storm;  they 
also  take  the  precaution  to  call  upon  Mukasa,  the  god  of  the 
lake,  to  ask  for  a  good  passage  over  what  they  term  a  sea. 
Much  depends  upon  the  weather;  hence  if  there  is  any  sign 
of  a  storm  coming,  the  men  will  not  start,  or  should  the  lake 
look  as  though  it  would  be  rough,  they  defer  their  journey  for 
a  day.  When  there  is  a  head  wind,  paddling  becomes  heavy 
work,  and  a  choppy  sea  is  both  unpleasant  and  makes  the 
work  much  harder,  whereas  a  favourable  wind  helps  the  men 
considerably.  It  is  strange  that  these  canoemen  have  never 
invented  sails;  though  ingenious  in  other  ways,  they  have 
not  sought  labour-saving  means  in  sailing,  but  are  content 
to  rely  upon  their  strength  of  arm.  On  two  or  three  occasions 
during  this  journey  we  were  out  all  day;  we  did  not  reach 
our  camping  ground  until  well  after  dark,  with  the  paddlers 
tired  out.  It  was  pleasant  when  nearing  a  camping  ground 
after  a  long  journey  to  see  the  small  fires  flickering  in  the 
distance,  and  to  hear  the  welcome  sound  of  voices,  and  to 
be  helped  to  land  by  the  friendly  hands  of  men  who  had 
already  arrived  and  settled  down  for  the  night. 

There  was  one  long  journey  which  we  were  forced  to  make 
by  night,  because  the  prevailing  wind  was  against  making  it 
by  day,  and  the  wind  usually  changes  round  in  the  evening. 
We  commenced  this  journey  at  half-past  two  in  the  afternoon 
and  paddled  until  dark,  and  thus  far  the  men  worked  well,  and 
we  made  good  progress ;  we  then  however  lost  touch  with  the 
other  canoes,  and  the  men  became  weary  and  fitful  in  their 
work.  It  was  a  dark  night  with  little  to  beguile  the  time  after 
sunset;  the  spasmodic  efforts  of  the  tired  men  with  an 
occasional  attempt  at  a  song  failed  to  break  the  monotony, 
so  that  the  time  dragged  heavily  until  midnight,  when  the 
paddlers  said  we  were  nearing  an  island  on  which  we  should 
camp ;  the  announcement  of  a  prospective  camp  revived  the 
flagging  spirits  of  the  men;  they  began  to  put  more  effort 
into  their  mechanical  strokes,  causing  the  canoe  to  redouble 

5—2 


68 


A  CANOE  BY  NIGHT 


[CH. 


its  speed.  As  we  drew  near  the  dark  outline  of  land,  one  of 
the  men  called  out  that  there  was  a  hippopotamus  in  front; 
the  head  of  the  canoe  was  quickly  turned,  and  the  men  began 
to  paddle  with  their  utmost  strength,  causing  the  canoe  to 
bound  along  and  thus  escape  what  was  thought  to  be  a 
dangerous  animal  which  would  probably  attack  and  smash 
the  canoe,  and  in  all  probability  kill  some  of  the  paddlers. 
After  a  few  strokes  at  this  rapid  rate  there  was  a  slight  grating 
sound,  and  then  we  stopped  dead  still,  and  the  canoe  began 
to  rock  gently:  we  had  run  on  a  submerged  rock  and  were 
helpless.  All  the  strength  of  the  paddlers  and  their  skill  to 
move  the  canoe  forwards  or  backwards  proved  of  no  avail ;  the 
men  peered  into  the  gloom,  and  soon  ascertained  that  the 
object  which  they  had  taken  to  be  an  animal  was  a  rock  over 
which  the  water  was  gently  playing.  When  satisfied  that  they 
were  safe  from  a  savage  beast,  the  next  thing  the  paddlers 
sought  to  do  was  to  devise  some  plan  for  escaping  from  that 
trying  position:  so  poles  used  for  punting  in  shallow  water 
were  brought  out  from  the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  but  it  was 
then  discovered  that  we  were  in  deep  water,  and  that  the 
rock  on  which  the  canoe  was  hung  was  a  straight  column 
which  could  only  be  felt  with  the  poles,  but  which  afforded 
no  fulcrum  from  which  to  lever  the  canoe.  We  swung  about 
for  two  hours  in  this  helpless  condition,  when  to  our  joy  we 
heard  the  sound  of  paddles,  and  after  a  time  we  were  able  to 
hail  the  canoe  which  was  coming  in  our  direction,  and  we 
found  it  to  be  one  of  our  own  belated  fleet.  The  men  in  this 
canoe,  though  very  tired,  kindly  came  to  our  aid;  they  first 
tried  to  tow  us  off,  but  we  were  too  firmly  fixed  to  be  moved; 
so  it  proved  necessary  to  tranship  men  and  cargo  and  thus 
lighten  the  canoe,  before  it  could  be  moved  and  refloated. 
After  the  cargo  and  most  of  the  men  had  been  transhipped, 
the  rest  of  the  men  went  into  the  stern ;  this  caused  the  bow 
to  rise,  and  by  towing  and  paddling  the  canoe  was  got  off,  and 
we  paddled  round  the  island  to  the  camp,  which  was  not  far 
distant.  It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  we 
arrived  in  camp,  so  after  a  light  meal  I  retired  to  bed  and 


v]  FIRST  GLIMPSE  OF  UGANDA  69 

slept  until  eight  o'clock.  The  men  were  ready  by  about  nine 
o'clock  to  resume  the  journey  by  which  time  I  had  break- 
fasted, and  we  continued  our  way. 

A  few  more  canoe  journeys  after  the  above  experience 
brought  us  to  the  shores  of  Uganda,  with  a  decided  change  of 
scenery  from  that  of  Usakuma  and  the  islands  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  lake.  Here  in  Uganda,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  there  was  lovely  green  grass  upon  hill  and  plain,  with 
trees  in  full  leaf,  and  plantain  groves  looking  fresh  and  beauti- 
fully cool  dotted  about  on  the  hill-sides.  Soon  after  we  reached 
our  first  camp  in  Uganda,  people  began  to  bring  us  cooked 
food,  which  was  a  novel  and  delightful  experience,  and  the 
headman  told  us  it  was  a  gift  for  which  we  were  not  expected 
to  pay;  when  we  expressed  our  gratitude,  the  donors  thanked 
us  for  accepting  their  gift,  and  were  quite  pleased  to  have 
a  little  notice  taken  of  them.  To  have  food  cooked  and 
brought  to  us  was  so  unexpected  that  we  were  quite  prepared 
to  pay  heavily  for  the  luxury,  while  to  obtain  vegetable  food 
with  fruit  after  eating  nothing  but  biscuits  and  meat  was  a 
most  agreeable  change.  The  coast  boys  with  me  also  noticed 
the  change  in  the  manners  of  the  people,  and  remarked: 
"These  are  a  polite  people,  they  are  the  first  we  have  met 
since  we  left  the  coast  who  have  a  word  for  thanks  in  their 
own  language." 

Though  the  great  lake  has  no  tide,  yet  we  noticed  on  the 
Uganda  shore  that  the  prevailing  wind  was  from  the  lake 
during  the  day  and  to  the  lake  during  the  night,  and  that 
this  wind  caused  the  water  to  run  up  the  shore  during  the 
day  and  to  recede  some  distance  during  the  night,  which 
gave  the  appearance  of  a  tide.  Some  Baganda  who  once 
visited  the  coast  were  much  surprised  by  the  waves  on  the 
sea  shore,  and  still  more  so  when  they  tried  to  drink  the  water 
and  found  it  salt ;  their  surprise  was  complete  when  they  saw 
the  rising  tide  covering  the  wide  stretches  of  sand,  for  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  the  fresh  water  of  the  great  lake 
with  no  tide.  Some  Masai  who  visited  the  coast  accounted 
for  the  ebb  tide  by  saying  that  the  water  was  taken  out  to 


70  LAKE  STORMS  [ch. 

• 

pasture  during  the  day  and  brought  home  in  the  evening  as 
cows  are. 

We  had  now  reached  Southern  Uganda  and  were  able  to 
skirt  the  lake  shore  continually  and  to  camp  on  the  mainland ; 
this  shore  was  bright  with  beautiful  scenery,  woods,  hills  and 
valleys,  with  here  and  there  a  higher  hill  towering  above 
the  rest.  Sometimes  we  crossed  an  arm  of  the  lake  that 
could  be  seen  to  run  far  inland  and  end  in  papyrus  grass, 
with  trees  rising  above  and  extending  up  the  hill-sides,  making 
a  pretty  picture.  We  were  not  yet,  however,  out  of  the  region 
of  danger  from  storms  on  the  lake,  and  were  not  to  reach 
our  destination  without  a  little  more  unpleasant  excitement. 
One  day,  as  we  were  paddling  along  and  quietly  crossing  an 
arm  of  the  lake,  the  men  suddenly  announced  that  a  storm 
was  coming  upon  us,  and  began  to  paddle  with  all  their  might 
to  reach  land ;  we  had  barely  time  to  reach  a  place  of  safety, 
when  gusts  of  wind  began  to  blow  and  torrents  of  rain  came 
down.  We  were  glad  to  shelter  under  a  clump  of  trees,  and 
then  to  run  into  a  native  hut  which  we  discovered  near  by, 
until  the  storm  passed.  Others  less  fortunate  than  ourselves 
had  to  paddle  as  best  they  could  to  the  shore,  in  the  teeth  of 
the  storm. 

A  few  days  later  we  were  not  so  fortunate  in  reaching 
shore,  but  were  well  out  at  sea,  when  a  storm  burst  upon  us 
with  such  suddenness  that,  before  we  could  reach  the  land, 
the  waves  were  lashed  up  into  mountains  of  water  so  high  that 
even  when  standing  up  in  the  canoe,  it  was  impossible  to  see 
land  over  them.  The  steersman  said  he  dared  not  keep  the 
canoe  heading  the  waves,  for  they  would  break  the  keel ;  we 
had  therefore  to  lie  broadside  on  in  the  trough  and  trust  to 
make  land  by  paddling  in  the  hollow  of  the  waters.  The  men  on 
the  windward  side  of  the  canoe  kept  their  paddles  ready  to 
break  the  force  of  the  waves  from  coming  into  the  canoe,  but 
in  a  short  time  we  were  water-logged,  and  the  men  began  to 
cry,  ''We  are  dead  men,"  and  to  drop  their  paddles.  It  was 
a  critical  time,  I  saw  that  our  safety  depended  upon  action, 
for  nothing  but  hard  paddling  with  ceaseless  baling  out  of  the 


v] 


A  CANOE  IN  A  STORM 


7i 


water  could  avail :  as  I  did  not  know  more  than  two  or  three 
words  of  their  language,  and  the  paddlers  did  not  know  mine, 
I  picked  up  a  paddle  and  ran  along  the  canoe  from  seat  to 
seat,  slapping  each  man  on  the  shoulders  with  it  and  calling 
out  "Vuga"  (paddle),  as  I  passed  up  and  down.  The  men 
responded  with  alacrity,  and  my  boy  began  to  work  hard 
to  bale  out  water,  using  the  only  ladle  there  was  in  the  canoe; 
to  help  in  this  work  I  used  my  sun  hat,  and  we  worked  away 
to  keep  the  canoe  afloat.  The  men  began  to  gain  confidence 
with  their  exertions,  and  we  crept  slowly  nearer  the  shore 
and  into  less  troubled  water.  In  half  an  hour's  time  we  had 
reached  a  creek  where  a  crowd  stood  watching  our  progress 
on  the  shore,  and  some  of  the  men  ran  into  the  water  up  to 
their  necks  and  seized  the  canoe  and  soon  dragged  it  high 
on  to  dry  land.  The  water  was  boiling  and  lashing  itself  into 
fury  over  a  rocky  entrance  of  the  bay  into  which  we  had 
run,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  ready  help  of  the  natives 
from  the  shore,  we  should  have  sunk  in  the  surf  and  lost  our 
cargo.  The  natives  shook  us  by  the  hand  as  we  landed,  and 
congratulated  us  on  our  escape,  as  though  we  were  their 
relatives ;  it  was  most  refreshing  to  find  people  so  interested 
in  our  welfare.  When  we  were  safe,  we  waited  anxiously  for 
the  other  canoes  to  come  in.  They  had  a  terrible  struggle;  we 
could  see  them  being  lifted  up  on  the  crests  of  the  waves, 
and  then  for  a  few  moments  they  would  be  lost  to  sight  in 
the  hollows  of  the  water,  but  the  men  stuck  manfully  to  their 
work,  and  one  after  the  other  the  canoes  came  slowly  to  land. 
The  waves  seemed  to  resent  the  canoes  entering  the  small 
bay  in  which  we  lay;  they  swept  across  the  mouth  in  great 
fury,  throwing  themselves  in  mad  anger  upon  the  rocks,  then 
roaring  like  fiends  at  having  lost  their  prey,  they  fell  back 
into  the  gulf  below.  Two  canoes  were  swamped  at  this  point 
and  sank,  but  the  men  were  rescued,  and  only  a  poor  goat, 
which  was  tied  in  the  canoe,  was  drowned.  I  feared  that 
all  my  goods  in  these  two  canoes  were  lost,  but  when  the 
water  became  calm  towards  evening,  some  of  the  men  went 
out  in  another  canoe ;  one  man  dived  and  secured  lines  to  the 


72 


CANOE  RACING  A  STEAMER  [ch. 


sunken  canoes;  paddlers  then  dragged  them  into  shallow 
water  and  rescued  the  goods.  The  goods  which  were  in  the 
canoes  were  chiefly  cotton  barter  goods,  so  we  were  able  to 
open  the  bales  and  to  spread  the  goods  on  the  sands  in  the 
sun,  and  when  dry  to  make  them  up  again  into  bales, 
which  were  but  little  worse  for  the  wetting.  A  few  personal 
objects  such  as  books  and  a  camera  were  spoiled.  The  canoe- 
men  made  a  meal  of  the  poor  goat,  and  were  perfectly  happy 
over  their  feast  after  their  trying  experience.  The  rest  of  the 
voyage  passed  happily,  we  had  made  a  fairly  quick  passage, 
having  travelled  two  hundred  miles  by  water  in  twelve  days, 
which  was  two  days  under  the  usual  time  taken.  Thus  my 
first  journey  on  the  great  lake  ended.  Many  lake  journeys 
have  been  undertaken  since  that  time,  but  none  has  been 
so  full  of  adventures. 

When  steamers  were  introduced  on  the  lake,  the  natives 
thought  that  such  "canoes"  could  not  make  the  same  progress 
as  their  smaller  canoes,  and  were  incredulous  when  we  tried 
to  explain  that  the  speed  with  which  they  travelled  was  more 
than  twice  as  great ;  they  said  they  would  soon  prove  that 
they  could  outstrip  a  steamer,  and  prepared  for  a  race.  This 
opinion  of  superiority  of  speed  was  shared  by  some  of  the 
chiefs  and  even  by  the  king  of  Uganda,  who  had  a  secret 
belief  that  his  men  could  not  be  beaten.  The  Commissioner 
kindly  invited  King  Mwanga  to  visit  and  inspect  the  steamer 
when  it  arrived  in  Uganda,  and  the  captain  arranged  a  race 
with  the  Uganda  canoes.  When  all  was  ready  for  the  race, 
King  Mwanga  had  his  best  canoe  and  a  picked  crew  waiting  ; 
he  took  his  place  on  the  steamer  to  watch  the  fun  and  also  to 
see  the  wonderful  working  of  the  engines ;  he  quite  expected 
to  see  his  crew  dart  ahead  and  leave  the  steamer  in  the  far 
distance.  The  canoe  was  manned  by  twenty-two  strong 
paddlers,  and  both  canoe  and  steamer  started  at  the  same 
moment.  At  first  the  canoe  shot  away  while  the  steamer 
picked  up  her  anchor  and  got  under  weigh ;  this  delighted  the 
paddlers  and  Mwanga,  the  latter  giving  expression  to  his 
delight  and  cheering  his  canoemen,  who  shouted  defiant 


v]  RAVAGES  OF  SLEEPING  SICKNESS  73 


messages.  Their  surprise  was  great  when  the  steamer  began 
to  move,  and  when  it  easily  caught  up  the  canoe  and  then 
left  it  behind ;  the  paddlers  worked  bravely  for  a  short  time 
to  try  to  catch  up  the  monster  canoe,  but  soon  gave  way 
and  acknowledged  themselves  beaten.  King  Mwanga  re- 
turned to  land,  expressing  his  astonishment  at  such  a  marvel 
that  could  so  easily  overtake  and  leave  behind  his  most  rapid 
canoe,  and  he  gave  the  English  credit  for  working  great 
wonders  in  ships. 

During  the  past  few  years  the  best  canoes  have  had  to 
be  destroyed,  and  the  people  on  the  islands  of  the  lake  have 
been  removed  to  places  inland,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of 
sleeping  sickness;  it  was  found  necessary  to  destroy  the 
canoes  in  order  to  prevent  the  people  from  returning  to  their 
old  homes  on  the  islands  where  it  was  found  that  the  greatest 
number  of  deaths  from  the  scourge  was  taking  place.  The 
disease  is  spread  by  the  bite  of  a  small  fly,  not  unlike  a  house- 
fly in  size  and  shape,  which  lives  in  the  grass  and  reeds  along 
the  shores  of  the  lake ;  this  fly  is  particularly  noxious  and  is 
the  principal  medium  for  transmitting  the  microbe  which 
causes  the  disease ;  it  has  infected  birds,  monkeys  and  many 
other  kinds  of  warm-blooded  animals  in  the  lake  region.  By 
the  expulsion  of  the  natives  from  the  lake  districts,  industries 
such  as  fishing,  canoe  building,  and  navigating  the  waters  of 
the  lake  have  ceased,  while  the  fisherfolk  live  the  life  of  exiles 
on  the  mainland  and  long  for  permission  to  return  to  their 
old  haunts  and  birthplaces,  even  though  they  would  thereby 
run  the  risk  of  contracting  the  disease  and  of  dying.  To  many 
of  these  fisherfolk  the  inland  life  is  more  like  banishment  and 
imprisonment  than  anything  else,  and  they  frequently  beg. 
to  be  allowed  to  return  to  die  in  their  own  land.  In  the 
meantime  the  art  of  canoe  building  is  fast  dying  out,  and 
unless  some  means  are  taken  to  preserve  the  knowledge,  the 
art  will  be  lost  altogether.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  germs  of  the  disease,  which  has  worked  such 
havoc  in  the  land,  will  ever  be  eradicated;  no  remedy  has 
been  found,  though  the  greatest  skill  of  medical  science  has 


74 


NATIVE  HEROISM 


[CH.  V 


been  and  still  is  hard  at  work  seeking  it.  The  only  course  at 
present  seems  to  be  that  of  allowing  nature  to  fight  the  battle, 
and  to  hope  that  the  survivors  will  in  time  become  immune 
to  the  effects  of  the  disease,  and  will  raise  up  a  strong  or  at 
least  an  immune  progeny  to  inherit  the  land. 

Many  stories  of  heroism  could  be  told  on  the  part  of  teachers 
who  gave  up  home  and  life  to  go  to  help  the  sick,  how  they 
faithfully  laboured  and  died  for  their  fellow  men ;  both  men 
and  women  have  gone  to  this  work,  knowing  the  risks  they 
ran  of  contracting  the  disease,  and  in  many  cases  they  have 
died  at  their  posts.  These  cases  of  voluntary  help  are  the 
more  remarkable,  because  previous  to  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  no  native  would  render  assistance  to  any  man 
of  another  clan.  In  the  early  years  of  missionary  work  I  have 
seen  men  and  women  being  left  to  die  by  neighbours,  when 
a  little  attention  might  have  saved  their  lives  and  when  no 
member  of  their  own  clan  was  at  hand  to  nurse  them.  The 
influence  of  Christianity  has  been,  and  is  being,  shown  in 
the  lives  of  many  of  these  natives  who  have  embraced  the 
Christian  faith. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE  OF  UGANDA 

THE  construction  of  the  Uganda  railway  has  done  much 
to  improve  the  conditions  of  the  interior  of  Africa. 
It  has  made  slavery  impossible,  not  only  by  enabling  the 
Government  to  have  a  sufficient  number  of  troops  taken  into 
the  interior  in  order  to  enforce  sound  laws,  but  also  by  re- 
moving one  of  the  greatest  reasons  for  slavery,  namely  the 
desire  to  use  human  beings  as  beasts  of  burden  and  machines 
for  labour,  costing  little  beyond  the  necessary  food.  It  has 
also  opened  up  the  country  and  placed  new  ideas  of  life  before 
the  people.  By  reducing  the  toil  and  weariness  of  travel  to  a 
minimum,  it  has  enabled  numbers  of  people  to  go  to  the  coast 
and  given  them  a  fresh  outlook  upon  the  world ;  it  has  changed 
the  aspect  of  native  life,  giving  nobler  motives  for  living. 
As  for  the  journey  to  Uganda,  it  has  become  a  pleasure  trip 
instead  of  a  long,  tedious,  and  dangerous  journey.  The  railway 
has  removed  the  many  risks  to  health  and  the  bodily  dangers 
to  which  each  traveller  was  exposed;  it  has  changed  what 
was  a  serious  undertaking  into  a  pleasure,  and  it  has  opened 
up  some  of  the  grandest  scenery  of  the  world,  and  given  access 
to  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  animal  life  that  can  any- 
where be  found.  All  this  can  be  seen  from  the  comfortable 
railway  carriage,  as  the  train  passes  on  its  way  into  the 
interior. 

The  journey  from  the  coast  to  Uganda  now  takes  fewer 
days  than  it  took  months  in  the  past.  It  is  possible  to 
reach  Uganda  from  London  within  a  month,  whereas  it  used 
to  be  thought  smart  work  if  the  destination  was  reached 
within  six  months;  the  usual  period  was  eight  or  nine 
months.  Another  great  boon  is  the  regular  monthly  mail  and 
the  telegraphic  communication ;  in  early  days  there  was  an 
interval  of  three  or  four  months  between  the  mails,  and 


76        NEWS  OF  QUEEN  VICTORIA'S  DEATH  [ch. 


letters  were  often  eight  months  old  when  they  were  received. 
There  is  now  a  telegraph  which  makes  known  within  an  hour 
important  events  occurring  in  Europe,  whereas  it  used  to  take 
two  months  to  send  a  message  by  special  runner  to  the  coast 
to  be  cabled  to  England.  The  news  of  the  death  of  the 
late  beloved  Queen  Victoria  reached  Uganda  soon  after 
it  was  announced  in  London.  The  effect  of  the  news  on  the 
natives  was  strange;  within  an  hour  after  it  had  reached 
the  country,  the  announcement  was  made  in  the  market 
place,  where  a  brisk  trade  was  being  carried  on,  and  the 
value  of  British  coinage,  rupees  and  pice,  dropped  to  nil; 
rupees  were  immediately  sold  for  two  or  three  cowry-shells, 
the  regular  value  being  a  thousand  cowry-shells  for  a  rupee. 
It  required  some  explanation  to  enable  the  people  to  realise 
that  there  was  no  depreciation  of  coinage  through  the  death 
of  a  European  sovereign.  They  had  been  accustomed  to  think 
that  everything  changed  when  the  king  died,  and  that  even  all 
reforms  might  change  or  end  with  the  king,  and  lawlessness 
reign,  until  the  new  king  acceded  and  began  a  new  order. 

The  ease  and  the  rapidity  with  which  the  traveller  moves 
through  the  vast  regions  from  the  coast  to  the  lake  have  how- 
ever their  disadvantages,  if  he  wishes  to  study  native  customs 
and  character,  and  to  explore  the  country ;  it  is  impossible  to 
know  anything  about  the  many  tribes  through  whose  country 
he  is  passing,  and  he  obtains  mere  glimpses  of  the  physical 
features  of  the  country;  he  also  misses  the  adventures 
common  to  the  past  mode  of  travel.  Still  there  are  few  men, 
if  any,  who  will  not  give  unqualified  praise  to  British  enter- 
prise, and  render  honour  to  the  men  who  so  energetically 
and  successfully  overcame  the  difficulties  of  constructing  the 
railway,  and  made  the  change  which  has  given  to  Central 
Africa  the  rapid  means  of  progress,  and  has  done  so  much  to 
make  slavery  a  thing  of  the  past.  It  has  brought  within  the 
reach  of  the  natives  of  the  interior  some  of  the  better  things 
of  the  world,  civilisation  with  its  advantages  of  education, 
and  safety  of  life  and  property. 

In  the  early  days  of  travel  the  remarkable  spectacle  of 


VI] 


BAGANDA  GENTLEMEN 


77 


social  progress  and  order  which  burst  upon  the  gaze  of  the 
traveller  when  he  entered  Uganda,  caused  him  the  utmost 
astonishment.  After  passing  through  country  after  country 
of  semi-clothed  barbarians  who  lived  and  acted  in  a  manner 
little  removed  from  the  wild  animals  around  them,  a  worse 
condition  of  affairs  might  reasonably  have  been  expected 
in  the  far  interior,  and  not  a  change  for  the  better;  yet 
here  he  was  suddenly  confronted  with  men  and  women 
clothed  and  clean,  with  polished  manners  and  becoming  de- 
meanour. He  was  prepared  for  a  lower  stage  in  morals  and 
culture,  and  to  find  gentlefolk  with  the  courtesy  and  manners 
of  highly  educated  people  was  indeed  a  surprise.  To  the 
present  day  there  has  been  no  adequate  explanation  given 
for  their  state  of  culture. 

Both  sexes  in  Uganda  are  well  clothed,  for  an  edict  was 
issued  by  a  former  king,  ordering  both  men  and  women  to 
wear  clothes,  and  fining  any  who  went  out  naked ;  the  men 
in  those  early  days  wore  bark-cloths  in  the  toga  fashion, 
while  the  women  had  beautiful  terra-cotta  coloured  bark- 
cloths  wrapped  round  their  bodies,  passing  under  the  arms 
and  extending  to  their  feet;  these  they  secured  round  the 
waist  by  a  neat  girdle  of  the  same  material,  but  of  a  lighter 
colour;  their  soft  dark  skin  was  beautifully  clean,  and  their 
heads  with  short  curly  hair  were  well  kept ;  their  faces,  ears, 
and  mouths  were  free  from  mutilations  or  tribal  marks,  so 
different  from  the  tribes  which  the  traveller  meets  on  all  sides 
of  Uganda. 

As  a  nation  the  Baganda  are  clean  in  their  habits  and 
most  particular  about  their  person,  dress,  food  and  general 
appearance;  the  floors  of  their  houses  are  neatly  carpeted 
with  sweet-smelling  grass,  upon  which  the  inmates  sit,  while 
a  mat  or  rug  is  spread  upon  it  for  the  visitor,  because  stools 
and  chairs  were  forbidden;  it  was  regarded  until  quite 
recently  as  an  immodest  act  for  a  woman  to  sit  upon  any 
raised  seat.  There  are,  it  is  true,  among  the  poorer  people 
some  few  homes  where  the  wife  is  found  to  be  untidy  and 
the  house  dirty,  but  these  houses  are  happily  the  exception, 


78 


PLANTAIN  GROVES 


[CH. 


not  the  rule.  These  signs  of  cleanliness  and  order  at  once 
attract  the  attention  of  the  most  casual  observer,  and  he 
further  learns  that  the  people  are  superior  to  their  neighbours 
in  almost  every  other  respect.  The  sanitary  arrangements,  it 
is  true,  were  not  in  keeping  with  the  cleanliness  described 
above,  and  it  took  some  years  to  work  the  necessary  reform 
until  the  people  consented  to  use  cesspools  about  their  homes. 

The  physical  features  of  Uganda  differ  considerably  from 
the  flat,  dry  country  of  Ugogo  and  Usakuma ;  it  is  hilly  and 
well  watered,  and  almost  every  valley  is  swampy  ground, 
while  some  valleys  contain  deep  water  held  up  by  papyrus 
growth  extending  from  hill  to  hill  often  a  mile  across.  The 
country  is  almost  always  green  with  numberless  evergreen 
trees ;  and  with  grass  even  in  the  hottest  season  of  the  year 
there  is  suitable  pasturage  for  the  large  herds  of  cattle  and 
the  flocks  of  goats  and  sheep  which  wander  over  these  public 
lands.  There  are  large  tracts  of  country  under  cultivation; 
sometimes  the  main  road  from  the  capital  to  the  home  of 
some  important  chief  winds  through  miles  of  plantain  groves 
well  cultivated,  looking  fresh  and  green,  and  delightfully 
cool  after  the  heat  in  the  plains  and  open  country;  the 
amount  of  water  is  undoubtedly  the  secret  cause  of  the 
fertility  and  wonderful  growth  of  plantains.  The  swamps  are 
not  an  unmixed  blessing,  for  they  are  the  breeding  places  of 
mosquitoes,  and  the  homes  of  dangerous  animals.  The  huts  of 
the  people  are  hidden  away  among  these  plantain  groves  and 
are  often  invisible  from  the  outskirts  or  neighbouring  hills 
because  of  the  height  of  the  trees;  they  are  often  enclosed  by 
high  reed  fences  with  neat  courtyards  in  front,  thus  giving 
the  impression  of  comfort  and  privacy.  The  sloping  sides 
of  the  hills  are  favourite  sites  for  the  building  of  huts;  the 
architect  invariably  excavates  a  level  place  upon  which  he 
builds  his  hut.  A  notable  feature  of  these  huts  is  that  the 
doorway  always  looks  to  the  side  of  the  hill ;  this  shuts  out 
the  view  which  there  might  have  been  of  the  landscape.  The 
only  reason  for  this  arrangement  seems  to  be  that  storms 
would  drive  into  the  house  if  the  door  faced  the  exposed  side ; 


VI] 


UGANDA  ROADS 


79 


and  it  is  certainly  wise  to  avoid  undue  exposure  in  a  hut 
where  the  doorway  has  to  serve  the  duties  of  window, 
chimney,  and  also  inlet  and  outlet  to  the  home. 

The  roads  are  striking,  especially  when  compared  with 
the  narrow  tracks  in  other  parts  of  Africa;  they  are  kept 
free  from  weeds  and  grass ;  even  the  private  path  leading  to 
some  small  single  hut  from  the  main  road  is  kept  free  from  the 
growth  of  weeds  and  is  at  least  three  feet  wide,  while  public 
roads  from  the  capital  to  the  dwellings  of  important  chiefs  are 
often  from  twelve  to  fourteen  feet  wide.  Where  a  road  crosses 
a  swamp,  a  bank  of  earth  is  raised  well  above  the  water  and 
four  or  five  feet  wide  to  form  the  path;  openings  are  left  in 
it  where  there  is  a  stream ;  the  bank  at  the  opening  is  faced 
with  piles  driven  into  the  mud  and  bridged  with  trees  so  that 
pedestrians  can  cross  it  without  wetting  their  feet. 

These  roads  and  bridges  are  indications  of  a  superior 
people,  and  they  strike  the  pedestrian,  who  has  travelled  from 
the  coast  through  less  civilised  countries  along  narrow  tracks, 
with  agreeable  surprise ;  in  districts  even  near  the  coast  a  tree 
falling  across  the  path  is  left  where  it  falls,  it  is  no  man's 
duty  to  remove  it;  so  the  traveller  has  to  walk  round  or 
climb  over  it.  These  advanced  qualities  and  marks  of  civilisa- 
tion of  the  Baganda  are  not  the  result  of  any  outside  influence 
being  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  they  are  of  much  earlier 
date  than  the  time  of  their  contact  with  either  the  Nubian 
or  the  Arab.  There  are  to  be  found  a  few  traces  of  Nubian 
and  of  Arab  influence,  particularly  in  dress,  in  mat-making, 
and  soap-making,  which  are  of  much  later  date  than  the 
wearing  of  the  bark-cloth  toga  or  the  finely  dressed  skin  of 
animals ;  the  chief  influence  of  the  Arabs  is  seen  in  ways  of  little 
credit  to  them,  such  as  the  introduction  of  nrearms  and, 
worse  still,  of  venereal  diseases  and  lax  morals.  The  principal 
trace  of  contact  with  the  Nubians  is  to  be  seen  in  the  loose 
cotton  breeches  and  the  sandals,  which  were  copied  by  some 
Baganda  who  visited  Khartoum  during  the  time  that  Gordon 
Pasha  was  there;  these  men  also  brought  back  cotton  seed 
and  started  the  growth  of  an  inferior  kind  of  cotton  tree. 


8o 


HAMITIC  INFLUENCE 


[CH. 


A  most  interesting  study  which  especially  concerns  the 
anthropologist  is  to  account  for  the  great  progress  which  the 
people  have  made  in  social  and  political  life;  they  have 
advanced  from  the  degraded  barbarity  of  primitive  nations  to 
a  stage  approaching  very  nearly  to  that  of  civilised  govern- 
ment. An  explanation  of  this  wonderful  progress,  which  still 
retains  striking  inconsistencies  in  social  organisation,  may  be 
found  in  an  early  immigration  of  a  superior  people  who  settled 
in  the  country,  conquered  the  aborigines,  and  brought  in  a 
higher  grade  of  social  customs,  but  who  allowed  certain  old 
practices  of  the  conquered  people  to  continue  side  by  side 
with  their  own  more  cultured  customs.  The  aborigines  were 
doubtless  raised  by  these  invaders  to  a  level  above  that  of 
their  barbarous  neighbours,  while  they  received  new  in- 
centives to  attain  to  higher  ideals. 

A  striking  instance  for  thinking  that  a  new  and  powerful 
race  entered  the  country  is  to  be  found  in  the  totemic  rules 
for  royalty,  where  the  totems  of  the  mother  become  those 
of  the  children;  that  is  to  say,  we  find  traces  of  matrilineal 
descent  among  royalty  still  in  force,  whereas  among  common 
people  children  take  the  paternal  totems,  and  patrilineal 
descent  is  strictly  followed. 

Again,  according  to  the  marriage  laws  of  Uganda,  it  is  a 
criminal  offence  for  any  man  to  marry  a  woman  of  the  clan  of 
his  father  or  of  his  mother ;  each  child  of  his  father's  brother 
he  regards  as  his  own  brother  or  sister;  he  also  regards 
all  children  of  any  male  member  of  his  father's  generation 
as  brothers  or  sisters.  All  members  of  his  father's  clan  a 
generation  above  him  he  regards  as  parents ;  members  of  his 
own  generation  as  brothers  and  sisters,  and  those  of  a 
younger  generation  as  his  children,  therefore  they  are  all 
of  the  forbidden  degree  of  consanguinity.  The  brothers  and 
sisters  of  the  mother  are  regarded  by  her  children  as  parents, 
and  so  they  too  come  within  the  forbidden  degree  of  marriage. 
The  kings  of  Uganda,  however,  have  always  married  their 
sisters,  indeed  the  queen  must  be  the  king's  sister.  It  is  true  that 
a  half  sister  rather  than  a  full  sister  is  sought  for  this  marriage, 


PLATE  VII 


VI] 


BURIAL  RITES  OF  KINGS 


81 


still  marriage  with  a  full  sister  is  permissible ;  in  either  case 
king  and  queen  have  the  totems  of  their  father  in  common, 
but  these  are  not  used,  it  is  those  of  the  mother  which  they 
ordinarily  follow.  Only  when  the  king  and  queen  have  dif- 
ferent mothers,  can  they  be  said  to  be  of  different  clans. 

Another  custom  of  royalty  which  differs  considerably  from 
the  custom  of  the  common  people  is  that  of  the  disposal  of 
the  dead.  Kings  are  not  buried  in  the  earth,  but  they  have 
large  mausoleums  built,  in  which  the  body  is  laid  after  it  has 
been  carefully  embalmed  by  a  lengthy  process  which  lasts  at 
least  six  months.  The  jawbone  of  a  king  is  removed  from 
the  body,  and  the  tomb  is  sealed  and  not  cared  for,  but  allowed 
to  fall  into  decay.  The  jawbone  is  removed,  cleaned,  decorated, 
and  preserved,  with  the  stump  of  the  king's  umbilical  cord; 
these  are  preserved  in  a  well-kept  temple  and  are  deified. 

Common  people  are  buried  in  the  earth  in  burial  grounds 
belonging  to  the  clan  on  the  day  of  death  or  during  the  next 
day,  and  there  is  no  process  of  embalming  them.  The  graves 
of  men  are  guarded  by  one  or  more  of  the  widows  of  the 
deceased;  the  body  must  be  buried  near  others  of  the  same 
clan,  though  it  must  not  rest  in  the  same  grave  with  any 
other  body;  the  grave  is  kept  in  perfect  order  for  a  period 
of  two  or  more  years,  but  as  after  this  period  the  ghost  may 
be  reincarnated,  the  grave  is  left  to  crumble  away,  and  all 
traces  of  it  disappear.  During  the  time  that  the  ghost  still 
remains  in  the  spirit  world  the  grave  is  guarded,  because 
the  relatives  of  the  deceased  fear  that  they  may  have  some 
hostile  visit  from  the  ghost,  should  they  be  negligent  in  their 
care  of  the  grave.  Though  the  people  do  not  expressly  teach 
a  doctrine  of  reincarnation,  still  they  believe  that  spirits  are 
reborn  after  a  period  of  about  two  years.  Reincarnation  may 
take  place  at  any  time  after  a  period  of  two  years;  whether 
it  has  taken  place  is  decided  by  members  of  the  clan  at  a 
ceremony  which  is  performed  over  an  infant  to  discover 
which  clan  spirit  animates  the  child.  It  is  never  said  that 
kings  die;  there  is  only  a  change  of  existence,  and  there  is 
therefore  no  reincarnation  for  them;  they  are  deified.  The 


R.U. 


6 


82 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  BAGANDA  [ch. 


fact  that  the  customs  for  kings  are  so  contrary  to  those  for 
the  common  people  gives  reason  for  thinking  that  the  kings 
were  an  outside  conquering  race  who  subdued  the  primitive 
people,  and  as  far  as  possible  fused  two  religions,  the  result 
being  what  is  commonly  known  as  Lubare  worship. 

Tradition  relates  that  the  first  king  came  from  the  north- 
east. The  people  who  most  nearly  answer  to  the  characteristics 
of  these  kings  are  the  Gallas,  and  there  is  some  evidence  of 
an  early  migratory  stream  of  these  Gallas  into  the  Nile 
Delta,  where  some  prehistoric  skulls  have  been  found  which 
are  said  to  be  of  Galla  type.  It  is  therefore  possible  that 
king  Kintu  was  either  a  descendant  of  one  of  those  early 
Gallas  who  entered  Egypt,  or  he  may  have  been  a  member 
of  the  original  migration  who  severed  himself  from  the  rest 
and  settled  in  Uganda  with  his  followers.  They  have  not 
only  left  traces  of  their  existence  in  stone  implements  and 
vessels,  but  they  also  appear  to  have  formed  the  tribes  which 
we  call  Nilotic,  and  most  probably  they  gave  kings  to 
Uganda,  Bunyoro,  and  Ankole. 

Presuming  the  royalty  of  these  kingdoms  of  Central  Africa 
to  be  of  Gallic  origin,  this  would  account  for  the  similarity 
of  customs,  still  followed  in  Uganda,  with  those  of  early 
Egypt.  There  are  also  some  marks  of  similarity  in  primitive 
art,  such  as  pottery  and  harps,  though  there  is  no  record 
nor  tradition  of  any  relations  with  Egypt.  We  may  also 
mention  the  similarity  between  the  sacred  obligation  for 
Egyptians  to  marry  their  sisters  and  for  the  Uganda  kings 
to  take  a  sister  as  their  queen ;  again  they  have  in  common 
embalming  of  the  dead  and  the  retaining  of  the  umbilical 
cords.  The  similarity  of  the  umbilical  cord,  so-called  Twin, 
of  the  Baganda,  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  the  royal 
standards  of  Egypt  (see  Man,  vol.  xi,  No.  n:  Note  upon 
Early  Egyptian  Standards,  C.  G.  Seligman,  M.D.,  Margaret 
A.  Murray).  Until  quite  recently  it  was  customary  for  the 
king  of  Uganda  to  have  his  Twin,  that  is  the  stump  of  the 
umbilical  cord,  brought  in  solemn  procession  to  him  each 
month  when  the  new  moon  was  first  visible,  by  an  important 


VI] 


BURIAL  GROUNDS 


83 


chief  who  ranked  second  to  the  prime  minister,  and  whose 
duty  it  was  to  be  guardian  of  the  Twin  and  of  royal  fetishes. 

But  we  must  return  to  our  study  of  the  people  and  country, 
though  we  might  go  further  in  the  comparison  of  Egyptian 
customs  with  those  of  the  Baganda.  There  are  members  of 
clans  who  state  that  their  forefathers  were  in  the  country 
before  the  arrival  of  king  Kintu,  and  these  clan  members  say 
that  they  held  land  in  their  own  right,  that  it  was  freehold, 
and  that  each  chief  was  independent  of  the  others.  They 
were  gradually  subjugated  by  the  powerful  conqueror  king 
and  amalgamated  into  the  present  nation.  Chiefs  responsible 
to  the  king  were  set  to  rule  over  large  districts,  and  new 
chieftainships  were  created  as  the  land  was  conquered.  The 
old  clan  chiefs  were  still  given  a  share  in  the  affairs  of  the 
government,  even  though  there  were  new  chiefs;  the  old 
chiefs  were  allowed  to  choose  members  from  their  clans  to 
fill  offices  connected  with  their  freehold  property,  as  they 
became  vacant,  and  were  responsible  for  the  taxes  on  their 
estates.  The  only  freehold  lands  were  the  clan  burial  grounds 
and  they  remained  such  until,  through  ignorance  of  the 
importance  of  the  customs,  the  British  Government  abolished 
these  grounds.  Events  have  proved  that  it  would  have  been 
beneficial  for  the  country,  had  these  freehold  burial  grounds 
been  preserved,  and  the  British  Government  would  have  been 
saved  both  trouble  and  expense  by  allowing  the  rights  of  the 
clans.  Apart  from  the  clan  freehold  burial  grounds  the  king 
was  the  sole  possessor  of  the  land  which  he  distributed  to 
his  chiefs  to  be  held  by  them  during  his  pleasure ;  he  never 
sold  or  gave  away  land,  and  though  a  favourite  might  be 
given  possession  of  an  estate  to  be  held  during  the  king's 
life,  still  the  latter  retained  such  rights  that  at  his  death  the 
estate  reverted  to  the  crown,  and  his  successor  began  his  reign 
in  full  possession  of  the  kingdom.  On  the  death  of  the  king 
every  chief,  even  the  prime  minister,  went  out  of  office,  leaving 
the  vacancies  to  be  filled  by  the  new  sovereign.  The  old 
chiefs  retained  their  titles,  and  were  given  small  estates  near 
the  temple  of  the  deceased  king,  who  was  never  admitted  to 

6—2 


84 


LAND  TENURE 


[CH. 


have  died,  but  to  have  entered  upon  a  new  existence.  The 
duties  of  these  former  first  grade  chiefs  were  now  connected 
with  the  temple  of  the  late  king,  and  they  were  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  dowager  queen,  who  removed  her 
residence  so  as  to  be  near  the  temple  of  her  late  brother  and 
husband  and  to  manage  the  temple  services  and  the  estate 
connected  with  the  temple. 

Though  the  king  held  entire  possession  of  the  land,  he  was 
most  careful  not  to  molest  or  unduly  interfere  with  clan 
burial  grounds.  In  each  burial  ground  there  was  a  temple 
for  the  clan  god,  with  accommodation  for  priests  and  medium ; 
the  chief  priest  was  invariably  the  head  of  the  clan  who  also 
stood  to  the  clan  in  the  relation  of  father.  It  was  the  universal 
belief  that  the  clan  burial  ground  was  the  home  of  the  ghosts 
of  departed  members,  and  that  they  remained  there  until 
they  were  reincarnated  in  the  form  of  some  child  of  the  clan. 
These  ghosts  resented  interference  with  the  burial  ground 
and  especially  with  the  bones  of  the  dead,  and  this  belief 
made  the  king  hesitate  to  interfere  with  members  of  a  clan, 
or  to  expel  them  from  their  freehold  property.  The  office  of 
chief  of  a  clan  was  an  influential  position  and  carried  many 
responsibilities  with  it,  more  especially  that  of  keeping  in 
touch  with  each  member  of  the  clan,  seeing  that  he  was 
treated  fairly  under  all  circumstances,  and,  when  necessary, 
avenging  the  death  of  a  member. 

The  nation  has  ever  been  proud  of  its  royal  family,  and 
has  been  most  careful  when  selecting  a  new  king  that  no  one 
but  a  prince  should  reign,  and  further  that  the  prince  chosen 
should  be  the  son  of  a  former  king ;  princes,  who  were  sons  of 
a  king's  brother,  were  rejected  as  ineligible  for  the  throne; 
princes  who  did  not  reign  were  called  peasant  princes.  The 
number  of  children  that  a  king  had  was  great,  and  formerly 
the  princes  were  a  menace  to  the  throne,  because  leading  chiefs 
sought  to  have  the  upbringing  of  such  princes,  and  frequently 
raised  rebellions,  seeking  to  depose  the  sovereign  and  to  place 
his  son  whom  they  had  brought  up  on  the  throne.  Apart 
from  such  disloyalty  chiefs  were  anxious  to  be  trusted  with 


VI] 


THE  CHOICE  OF  KING 


85 


the  care  of  a  prince,  for  they  realised  how  important  they 
would  be,  should  the  prince  under  their  care  be  selected  to 
reign  after  his  father;  hence  there  was  always  a  good  deal  of 
rivalry  to  secure  a  prince.  It  was  to  save  the  country  from 
constant  war  that  young  princes,  sons  of  the  king's  brothers, 
were  excluded  from  the  list  of  legitimate  heirs  to  the  throne. 
In  more  recent  years  the  king's  brothers  were  imprisoned  and 
starved  to  death,  after  the  proclamation  of  a  king,  by  the 
new  king's  mother,  with  the  object  of  removing  all  rivals  and 
of  avoiding  future  risings  against  the  newly-crowned  king. 

No  princess  has  been  known  to  reign,  though  such  ladies 
received  great  honour  from  all  classes  of  men ;  even  leading 
chiefs  stooped  low  or  knelt  when  about  to  speak  to  one  of 
them;  in  all  other  cases  women  knelt  when  speaking  to 
men,  whereas  chiefs  stooped  to  a  princess.  During  one  of 
the  recent  civil  wars  when  the  king  was  expelled,  and  the 
princes  were  few  in  number,  some  Mohammedan  Baganda 
became  alarmed  owing  to  statements  made  by  the  Arab 
traders;  they  feared  that  the  so-called  English  party  might 
appoint  a  queen  to  reign,  as  was  the  case  at  the  time  in 
England;  they  therefore  captured  as  many  princesses  as 
could  be  found,  shut  them  up  in  native  huts,  and  burnt  them 
to  death. 

With  the  exception  of  the  princesses  whom  the  king  took 
to  wife,  princesses  were  not  allowed  to  marry ;  but  this  restric- 
tion led  to  gross  immorality  among  these  ladies,  because  the 
princesses  did  not  strive  to  set  an  example  of  virtue,  but 
yielded  to  their  worst  passions  and  took  men  of  all  ages  and 
ranks  to  be  their  paramours,  even  though  they  knew  that 
they  ran  the  risk  of  being  put  to  death  for  their  actions. 

The  licentiousness  on  the  part  of  some  princesses  was  one 
of  the  chief  causes  of  the  early  spread  of  venereal  disease. 
Princesses  were  the  only  women  who  enjoyed  perfect  liberty; 
there  were  no  restrictions  placed  upon  them,  but  they  might 
go  where  they  wished  without  asking  anyone's  permission, 
and  in  later  years,  when  traders  were  admitted  to  Uganda, 
they  made  use  of  their  freedom  to  visit  Arab  and  Swahili 


86  BURNING  ROYAL  PERSONS 


[CH. 


traders.  These  traders  were  in  many  instances  men  of  gross 
passions,  suffering  from  horrible  diseases;  they  quickly  dis- 
covered that  they  could  secure  the  princesses  to  act  as  their 
wives  during  their  stay  in  Uganda,  and  that  such  friendships 
were  of  value  in  enabling  them  to  secure  greater  advantages 
in  trade,  and  they  therefore  made  presents  of  cotton  goods 
and  other  trifles  to  these  ladies ;  such  presents  were  new  and 
attractive,  especially  cheap  mirrors.  The  result  of  these  friend- 
ships and  alliances  was  the  contraction  of  disease,  which  was 
passed  on  by  the  princesses  to  their  own  countrymen  whom 
they  commandeered  at  times  to  satiate  their  lust.  In  all  cases 
of  illegal  alliances  princesses  took  care  to  have  no  children, 
because  the  penalty  was  death,  though  there  were  occasionally 
such  births ;  if  a  child  was  expected,  the  mother  would  visit 
a  friend  and  remain  in  some  distant  part  of  the  country  until 
the  child  was  born.  In  some  cases  the  child  would  be  killed, 
but  there  were  other  mothers  who  would  secure  some  foster 
mother  for  their  child,  and  leave  it  to  grow  up  without  the 
king's  knowledge.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  object  of 
this  stringent  law  was  to  end  the  old  and  regular  law  of 
succession  through  the  female  line,  when  the  sister's  son 
inherited  the  throne,  and  not  the  king's  son. 

The  practice  of  executing  princes  and  princesses  by  burning, 
or  by  starvation,  was  introduced  to  overcome  the  old  pro- 
hibition which  made  it  a  criminal  offence  to  shed  royal 
blood.  It  sometimes  happened  that  during  a  rebellion  a 
warrior  would  slay  a  prince  who  was  fighting  against  the 
king;  in  such  cases  the  king  would  praise  the  man  at  the 
time,  and  he  would  be  rewarded  for  his  deed,  but  after  a  few 
months  he  would  be  taken  prisoner  and  executed  for  shedding 
royal  blood,  because  the  ghost  was  said  to  be  causing  trouble 
and  to  be  calling  for  expiation.  The  only  safety  for  a  man 
who  had  slain  a  prince,  was  to  flee  the  country  and  remain 
in  exile.  The  practice  of  executing  a  man  who  had  shed  royal 
blood  was  due  to  the  strong  belief  in  the  hostility  of  the 
injured  ghost.  Some  calamity  or  sickness  that  occurred  would 
be  attributed  by  a  priest  to  the  ghost  of  a  slain  prince,  and 


VI] 


KILLING  HEIRS  TO  THE  THRONE 


87 


the  king  would  be  told  that  he  must  execute  the  man  who 
had  been  the  perpetrator  of  the  deed,  before  the  disease  could 
be  arrested.  Underlying  the  custom  of  burning  people  there 
appears  to  be  the  idea  of  annihilation  for  the  ghost  is  supposed 
to  be  destroyed  with  the  body,  and  all  fear  of  further  trouble 
from  it  ceases.  Formerly  when  princes  were  allowed  to  re- 
main alive  after  their  brother  was  made  king,  it  was  incum- 
bent on  the  monarch  to  be  always  prepared  to  repel  any 
attempt  made  by  one  of  his  brothers  to  dethrone  him  and 
secure  the  throne.  This  custom  not  only  saved  the  country 
from  a  feeble  and  decrepit  king,  but  also  made  the  king  alert 
and  warlike.  In  more  recent  years  all  princes  were  starved  to 
death  by  the  mother  of  a  newly  elected  king,  in  order  to 
save  her  son  from  rivals.  With  this  object  of  saving  her  son 
from  attacks,  the  king's  mother  was  no  sooner  raised  to  her 
new  position  of  power  as  queen  mother  than  she  captured  all 
her  husband's  sons  and  had  them  taken  to  some  secluded  spot, 
where  they  were  enclosed  in  a  high  stockade  without  food 
or  water  and  guarded  until  they  died  from  hunger  or  thirst. 
Several  ruins  of  such  places  still  exist,  with  the  remains  of 
the  moat  which  surrounded  the  stockade,  and  inside  may  be 
found  the  bones  of  the  dead  princes.  Though  this  custom 
safeguarded  the  king's  life,  it  became  to  him  an  occasion  for 
arrogance  and  idleness  and  led  him  into  habits  of  debauchery 
and  vice,  to  which  he  dared  not  have  yielded,  had  he  been 
called  upon  to  guard  his  throne  from  rivals. 

The  wife  of  a  king,  who  has  been  raised  to  the  high  dignity 
of  queen  mother,  in  her  early  years  may  have  been  only  the 
daughter  of  some  peasant,  and  during  her  husband's  lifetime 
may  not  have  been  an  honoured  wife  nor  a  woman  of  any 
especial  ability.  The  fact  of  her  son  becoming  king  gave  her 
a  position  of  great  honour,  and  her  first  public  act  was  to 
safeguard  the  position  of  her  son  and  thus  through  him 
make  her  own  place  secure. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  in  the  early  reigns  of  the 
kings  the  sovereign  was  expected  to  reign  only  so  long  as 
he  enjoyed  all  his  faculties,  and  when  his  powers  began  to 


88 


ENDING  THE  KING'S  LIFE 


[CH. 


fail,  he  was  expected  to  put  an  end  to  his  life  or  to  have  it 
taken  from  him  either  by  one  of  his  brothers  or  by  one  of 
his  wives.  There  is  one  instance  recorded  when  a  king  who 
wras  ill  is  said  to  have  been  smothered  by  his  wives.  By 
instituting  the  custom  of  killing  all  princes  eligible  for  the 
throne,  the  queen  mother  ensured  her  son's  reign  with 
peace  and  freedom  from  rebellion,  though  it  deprived 
the  people  of  the  excitement  of  warfare  which  was  dear  to 
them. 

The  king  lived  upon  a  hill  situated  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  lake.  The  summit  of  the  hill  was  levelled,  and  the  most 
commanding  site  overlooking  the  country  was  chosen  for  the 
king's  dwelling  houses,  court  houses,  and  shrine  for  fetishes, 
and  for  the  special  reception  room.  Round  these  buildings  on 
the  lower  slopes  of  the  hill  other  houses  were  built ;  in  front 
were  huts  for  the  guards  and  retainers,  and  the  many  houses 
for  the  wives,  their  maids  and  slaves,  were  built  on  the  sides 
and  at  the  back  of  the  royal  houses.  The  whole  of  the  royal  en- 
closure was  divided  up  into  small  courtyards  with  groups  of 
huts  in  them;  each  group  was  enclosed  by  a  high  fence  and 
was  under  the  supervision  of  some  responsible  wife.  Wide 
paths  between  high  fences  connected  each  group  of  houses 
with  the  king's  private  enclosure.  In  the  reign  of  the  famous 
king  Mutesa  there  were  several  thousand  residents  in  the  royal 
enclosure ;  he  had  five  hundred  wives,  each  of  whom  had  her 
maids  and  female  slaves ;  and  in  addition  to  the  wives  there 
were  fully  two  hundred  pages  and  hundreds  of  retainers  and 
slaves.  A  high  fence  built  of  elephant  grass  surrounded  the 
royal  residence,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  an  enemy  with 
the  ordinary  primitive  weapons  to  enter.  At  intervals  round 
the  outside  of  the  enclosure  guard  houses  were  built ;  there 
were  four  or  five  entrances  which  were  strongly  guarded ;  both 
inside  and  outside  were  huts  with  soldiers  always  on  duty.,  to 
prevent  any  person  except  the  slaves  and  wives  from  entering. 
Again  inside  the  enclosure  near  each  of  the  gates  were  other 
guard  houses  with  soldiers  on  duty,  who  had  instructions  as 
to  what  persons  were  to  be  admitted  by  the  gate-keepers. 


VI] 


THE  KING'S  RESIDENCE 


89 


The  main  entrance  in  front  of  the  royal  residence  was  the 
only  way  by  which  the  public  were  allowed  to  enter  or  leave 
the  court.  All  the  land  between  the  royal  residence  and  the 
lake  was  retained  for  the  king's  wives,  and  here  they  grew 
their  plantains.  It  has  always  been  customary  for  women  to 
dig  the  fields  and  to  grow  plantains  in  Uganda,  and  even 
princesses  were  diligent  workers  in  their  plantain  groves. 
Two  or  three  private  roads  ran  from  the  king's  enclosure  to 
the  lake,  approaching  it  at  different  points;  on  these  roads 
no  man,  unless  he  had  a  special  permit,  might  be  found  on 
pain  of  death ;  and  along  these  roads  the  king  could  pass  to 
the  lake  without  the  knowledge  of  his  subjects,  whenever  he 
wished  to  take  exercise  or  amusement.  The  private  land  was 
cultivated  by  the  king's  wives  and  their  slaves;  it  enabled 
the  king  to  pass  to  and  from  the  lake  without  the  knowledge 
of  anyone  except  his  own  immediate  followers,  and  it  was 
regarded  as  a  back  door  of  safety,  should  the  king  need  such. 
On  the  lake  shore,  at  the  inlet  known  as  the  king's  landing 
place,  there  were  several  royal  canoes  kept  ready  for  im- 
mediate use,  and  crews  of  paddlers  were  in  attendance,  in 
case  they  should  be  called  upon  in  an  emergency.  If  there 
was  any  rising  in  the  capital,  and  a  sudden  attack  was  made 
upon  the  king  before  he  had  time  to  collect  his  army,  he 
made  his  escape  to  an  island  of  the  lake,  where  he  could 
gain  time  to  make  preparations  to  meet  the  foe. 

The  person  of  the  king  has  ever  been  regarded  as  most 
sacred;  he  was  never  allowed  to  walk  outside  his  own  en- 
closure, but  was  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  chosen  men, 
and  even  these  men  were  each  supplied  with  a  piece  of 
bark-cloth  to  place  over  their  heads  and  shoulders  for  the 
royal  seat,  lest  their  flesh  should  come  in  contact  with  that 
of  the  king.  The  shoulders  of  these  men  were  sacrosanct, 
and  no  man,  not  even  a  friend,  was  allowed  to  place  his 
hand  upon  them  in  a  familiar  manner;  any  breach  of  this 
rule  was  punished  by  a  fine. 

There  was  no  standing  army,  though  there  were  always  a 
large  number  of  retainers  and  followers  about  the  royal 


go 


THE  STANDING  ARMY 


[CH. 


residence  and  many  slaves,  all  of  whom  were  ready  to  take 
up  arms  and  protect  their  lord  the  king  if  necessary.  When- 
ever an  army  was  required,  each  district  chief  was  expected 
to  present  himself  before  the  king  with  a  number  of  followers. 
The  king  in  consultation  with  two  or  three  leading  chiefs 
decided  how  many  soldiers  each  chief  should  supply  for  any 
punitive  expedition.  If  a  sudden  demand  was  made  for 
the  protection  of  the  king,  each  loyal  chief  took  every  man 
he  could  command  at  the  moment. 

In  his  later  years  king  Mutesa  kept  a  number  of  soldiers 
always  on  duty  in  the  capital  under  the  command  of  chiefs ; 
these  chiefs  were  given  estates  in  each  district  in  lieu  of 
regular  pay.  The  estates,  or  tracts  of  land,  were  intended  to 
provide  the  troops  with  the  necessaries  of  life  instead  of 
money;  currency  was  then  unknown  except  in  the  form  of 
cowry-shells,  and  these  were  limited  in  number.  Each  soldier 
chief  was  called  a  Mutongole,  that  is,  a  soldier  chief ;  he  was 
expected  to  supply  a  number  of  men  according  to  his  rank, 
to  guard  the  royal  residence  and  to  act  as  a  police  force  to 
the  king  for  a  set  period  each  year ;  the  time  for  service  was 
arranged  by  rotation  by  the  soldier  chiefs  and  their  leader. 
At  times  when  there  was  a  punitive  expedition,  the  general 
was  chosen  from  the  ordinary  chiefs  or  civil  servants,  and  to 
him  all  men  looked  for  orders,  and  the  soldier  chiefs  of  the 
regular  army  were  under  him. 

It  has  been  customary  for  some  generations  for  kings  to 
take  for  the  army  some  portion  of  land,  to  call  it  by  their 
own  name,  and  to  place  over  it  one  of  their  favourite  soldier 
chiefs.  The  chiefs  who  govern  these  estates  take  as  their 
official  title  the  name  of  the  king  after  whom  the  land  is 
named,  and  the  estates  henceforth  bear  the  king's  name, 
thus  there  is  found  to-day  the  estate  of  the  famous  king 
Mutesa,  called  Kitesa,  and  that  of  his  son  Mwanga,  called 
Kiwanga,  and  many  other  estates  of  older  kings. 

Men  who  became  soldiers  and  gave  evidence  of  soldierly 
qualities  were  raised  to  these  military  chieftainships  from 
civil  posts,  but  it  was  seldom  that  a  man  was  promoted  to 


VI] 


SOCIAL  ORGANISATIONS 


91 


any  civil  office  or  transferred  from  a  military  chieftainship 
to  a  civil  chieftainship.  Chiefs  and  common  people  alike  vied 
with  each  other  to  gain  favour  with  their  king;  bravery  in 
war,  ability  in  managing  estates,  or  skill  in  working  iron  or 
wood  were  noted  by  the  king,  and  were  causes  for  promotion 
and  wealth,  which  came  to  the  most  successful  and  usually 
the  most  deserving.  This  fact  doubtless  tended  to  increase  the 
alertness  and  the  activity  of  the  young  men,  and  brought  to 
the  front  those  of  the  greatest  ability.  Another  cause  which 
doubtless  made  for  national  intelligence  and  physical  sound- 
ness, was  their  religious  system,  which  constantly  demanded 
victims  for  religious  purposes ;  so  the  physically  feeble  and 
mentally  incapable  people  would  be  taken  prisoners  and  put 
to  death  to  propitiate  gods  or  ghosts,  leaving  the  clever  and 
more  shrewd  subjects  to  propagate  the  nation. 

Again,  as  there  were  no  prisons,  there  were  many  difficulties 
in  detaining  offenders.  So  it  became  the  custom  to  execute 
vicious  persons  rather  than  detain  them  in  the  stocks,  which 
necessitated  constant  guarding,  though  it  was  the  ordinary 
method  of  detaining  accused  persons.  Vice  was  thus  to  a 
great  extent  kept  down  by  combing  out  notoriously  immoral 
people.  Those  who  were  left  to  propagate  the  nation  were 
men  of  ability  and  of  good  character,  able  to  restrain  them- 
selves from  grossly  evil  living. 

The  government  was  monarchical,  with  many  survivals  of 
feudalism;  the  king  was  an  autocratic  ruler  with  power  to 
appoint  or  to  depose  chiefs  at  will,  though  he  seldom  used 
this  power  without  seeking  the  advice  of  his  leading  chiefs. 
When  once  a  chief  was  appointed,  he  had  great  freedom  in 
exercising  his  discretion  in  the  district  which  he  governed. 
The  principal  chief  of  a  district  could  legally  only  use  his 
authority  over  subchiefs  in  state  affairs,  such  as  road  making, 
the  building  of  royal  houses,  and  the  collection  of  taxes ;  in 
ordinary  affairs  a  subchief  was  expected  to  manage  his  estates 
independently,  being  responsible  to  the  king  only.  Thus  a 
leading  chief  of  a  district  could  not  force  any  of  his  subchiefs 
to  build  him  a  house  for  his  private  use,  or  a  fence  on  his 


92 


CHIEFTAINSHIPS 


private  land;  he  had  to  rely  upon  his  own  immediate  followers, 
his  freemen,  serfs,  and  household  slaves  for  such  work.  As 
a  rule  a  chief  surrounded  himself  with  men  belonging  to  his 
own  clan,  who  were  responsible  to  him  for  their  behaviour; 
to  these  he  looked  for  assistance  in  times  of  war  and  for  the 
carrying  out  of  any  private  building  or  the  performing  of  other 
duties.  The  wisdom  of  having  men  of  his  own  clan  around 
him  was  frequently  proved  by  a  chief ;  he  was  their  near  rela- 
tive, and  his  interests  were  theirs,  hence  when  the  chief  was 
accused  by  the  king  for  any  breach  of  order,  they  were  always 
ready  to  set  him  free  from  the  accusation,  or  to  extricate  him 
from  any  difficulty.  They  were,  moreover,  able  to  assist  their 
chief  in  keeping  secret  any  matters  which  might  tell  against 
him  at  court,  and  especially  to  keep  from  publicity  any  tokens 
of  wealth  or  greatness  likely  to  excite  the  cupidity  of  the  king. 

Each  chief  was  a  magistrate  in  his  own  district,  but 
litigants  had  the  right  of  appeal  to  a  higher  court  if  they 
were  dissatisfied  with  a  magistrate's  decision.  A  freeman  who 
wished  might  leave  one  chief  and  join  another  at  will,  and  he 
would  be  sure  of  a  welcome  wherever  he  went;  chiefs  were 
always  anxious  to  receive  men  into  their  employ  as  tenants 
on  their  estates,  because  the  more  men  a  chief  had,  the  easier 
it  became  to  fulfil  his  state  duties  without  unduly  taxing  his 
followers.  The  amount  of  work  allotted  to  a  chief  was 
in  proportion  to  his  official  rank,  not  to  the  number  of  the 
retainers  he  had ;  hence  the  number  of  retainers  was  an  im- 
portant matter,  and  the  labour  of  each  man  was  increased  or 
decreased  by  the  number  or  paucity  of  his  retainers.  Taxes 
were  paid  in  kind  by  tenants  to  their  chief,  who  passed  them 
on  to  the  representatives  of  the  king  sent  for  the  purpose; 
they  were  divided  into  herds  of  cattle,  flocks  of  goats  and 
sheep,  bundles  of  bark-cloths,  iron  hoes,  and  cowry-shells. 
From  these  taxes  paid  to  the  king  each  chief  received  back 
a  portion  as  his  rent  for  the  year;  peasants  further  paid  a 
rent  for  land  to  their  over  chief  in  pottery  and  labour, 
while  smiths  worked  in  iron  for  their  chiefs,  and  supplied 
them  with  hoes,  knives,  and  spears. 


VI] 


DOMESTIC  SLAVES 


93 


Besides  his  freedmen  a  chief  had  on  his  estate  many 
retainers  from  his  own  clan,  as  we  have  already  mentioned 
above,  and  in  his  enclosure  many  pages  and  also  many 
domestic  slaves  of  both  sexes,  some  of  the  women  becoming 
his  concubines;  all  these  followers  who  lived  within  the  chief's 
enclosure  were  dependent  upon  his  table.  The  slaves  were 
obtained  chiefly  through  raids  upon  neighbouring  tribes,  but 
some  might  have  been  purchased,  or  they  might  be  the  off- 
spring of  slaves  who  had  married  fellow  slaves  with  their 
master's  consent.  Any  woman  slave  who  was  married  to  a 
chief  and  had  a  child  was  no  longer  considered  a  slave,  but 
was  given  her  freedom.  There  was  no  formal  declaration,  but 
it  was  an  understood  rule.  There  was  an  interesting,  though 
peculiar,  custom  followed  by  peasants,  of  placing  a  wife  or 
a  child  in  pawn,  when  they  could  not,  or  would  not  begin 
some  particular  work  which  a  chief  had  ordered,  and  they 
were  fined  by  the  overseer  for  the  delay.  Such  a  person  would 
give  his  child,  or  failing  a  child,  his  wife,  to  be  held  until 
he  could  pay  the  fine.  The  person  in  pawn  could  be  redeemed 
at  leisure  by  the  owner;  the  wife  or  child  did  not  appear 
to  object  to  such  treatment,  but  went  willingly,  and  waited 
with  the  utmost  patience  for  her  redemption,  whether  it  was 
a  matter  of  a  few  days  or  of  months.  Sometimes  they  were 
not  redeemed  at  all,  but  became  nominal  slaves. 

A  form  of  taxation  which  often  caused  a  peasant  trouble, 
was  that  of  being  required  to  pay  a  sum  of  money  to  the 
overseer  or  foreman,  before  he  was  allowed  to  begin  the  task 
allotted  to  him,  especially  state  building  or  road  making. 
A  peasant  would  be  set  to  do  some  work,  and  when  he  had 
been  instructed  as  to  the  amount  to  be  done,  he  would  be 
told  how  many  cowry-shells  or  bark-cloths  and  how  many 
pots  of  beer  he  must  bring  to  the  overseer  within  a  set  time, 
before  he  would  be  allowed  to  commence  his  work.  The 
amount  was  not  great,  indeed  it  seldom  exceeded  a  few 
pence,  but  it  might  be  impossible  for  the  man  to  obtain  the 
particular  article  in  the  given  time,  and  as  he  was  not  per- 
mitted to  start  work  until  he  had  paid  the  sum,  he  was  fined 


94 


TAX-GATHERERS 


[CH. 


for  failure  in  his  work.  When  the  amount  of  the  fine  was 
settled,  he  was  given  a  further  time  in  which  to  obtain  the 
whole  amount,  that  is,  the  original  amount  plus  the  fine,  and, 
unless  he  managed  to  pay,  his  fine  was  increased.  The  com- 
pound interest  in  such  a  case  was  ever  increasing,  and  this 
made  a  man  anxious  to  come  to  terms ;  so  in  despair  a  peasant 
would  often  borrow  the  necessary  amount  at  an  extravagant 
rate  of  interest,  or  again,  in  order  to  escape  the  fines,  he 
would  pawn  his  wife  or  child  and  then  set  to  work.  A 
diligent  man  would  soon  be  able  to  raise  the  amount  needed, 
and  redeem  his  wife  or  child,  whereas  a  slothful  man  would 
leave  his  wife  in  pawn  for  months;  during  her  time  of 
detention  the  woman  would  work  for  her  new  master  in  his 
fields  and  behave  as  though  she  were  a  slave. 

The  amount  of  taxation  apportioned  to  each  chief  or  sub- 
chief  was  fixed  according  to  the  number  of  tenants  on  each 
estate.  The  country  was  divided  by  the  king  and  his  prime 
minister  into  two  or  three  parts,  and  men  responsible  for 
collecting  the  tax  were  sent  to  each  part.  Each  tax-gatherer 
went  with  crowds  of  followers  to  the  residence  of  some  local 
chief  to  make  that  his  headquarters;  he  assumed  the  title  of 
king,  he  set  about  to  learn  the  number  of  huts  in  a  district, 
and  in  consultation  with  the  leading  chiefs  he  settled  the 
amount  of  the  tax  per  head.  In  addition  to  this  tax  the  king 
made  a  further  demand  upon  the  boys  and  girls  in  the  country 
to  become  pages  at  his  court  or  maids  waiting  upon  his  wives. 
There  was  a  vast  amount  of  abuse  and  corruption  exercised 
by  the  tax-gatherers;  they  extracted  large  sums  over  and 
above  the  amount  which  they  carried  to  the  king,  and  this 
was  the  reward  for  their  services.  The  amount  which  the 
king  paid  them  was  trifling  in  comparison,  and  it  was  quite 
well  known  that  they  were  enriching  themselves.  Men 
frequently  ingratiated  themselves  with  the  king  by  gifts,  in 
order  to  be  appointed  tax-collectors. 

The  polygamous  habits  of  the  people  placed  women  at  a 
premium,  and  wealthy  people  possessed  many  wives,  whereas 
peasants  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  even  their  one  wife, 


vi] 


MARRIED  WOMEN 


95 


owing  to  the  large  sum  which  they  had  to  procure  for  the 
marriage  fee.  This  fee  was  fixed  by  members  of  the  woman's 
clan,  who  were  anxious  to  obtain  as  much  as  possible  for 
their  relative;  it  was  of  changeable  value,  and  as  love  seldom 
entered  into  a  marriage  contract,  a  woman  was  always  proud 
to  command  a  high  price.  Each  man  made  an  effort  to  marry, 
and  to  have  children,  because  he  thought  that  his  happiness 
in  the  future  world  would  depend  upon  the  existence  of 
children  who  would  offer  sacrifices  to  his  ghost;  the  honour 
given  him  at  his  funeral  also  depended  upon  his  children ;  if 
he  had  grandchildren  at  his  funeral,  the  honour  was  con- 
sidered to  be  all  the  greater. 

At  marriage  a  wife  went  to  live  among  the  clan  of  which  her 
husband  was  a  member;  she  could,  however,  visit  her  home 
on  obtaining  her  husband's  consent  and  on  being  provided 
with  a  suitable  escort.  If  such  a  visit  lasted  more  than  one 
day,  the  husband  was  expected  to  take  a  present  of  a  goat 
and  a  large  pot  of  beer  to  his  wife's  family,  before  he  could 
bring  her  home.  At  marriage  a  wife  was  given  her  own  house 
and  garden,  and  she  was  expected  to  dig  the  land,  cultivate 
plantains  and  other  kinds  of  vegetable  food  sufficient  for  the 
needs  of  the  house ;  she  had  also  to  do  all  the  cooking,  carry 
water,  supply  fire- wood,  and  keep  the  inside  of  the  house  tidy. 
Thus  the  general  comfort  of  a  man  largely  depended  upon 
marriage.   A  diligent  wife  would  grow  all  the  food  that  was 
necessary  and  would  cook  for  her  husband,  whereas  an  idle 
wife  would  leave  her  husband  short  of  food.  If  a  woman  failed 
in  any  one  of  these  duties,  she  was  considered  an  imperfect 
wife,  and  her  failure  would  in  all  probability  be  the  cause  of 
friction  and  domestic  trouble.  The  law  of  the  land  did  not 
give  a  woman  any  help  to  obtain  a  divorce ;  but  a  man  might 
put  away  his  wife  whenever  he  wished,  he  might  also  chastise 
or  even  kill  her  for  a  small  fault;  this  was  his  right,  for 
which  he  had  paid  the  dowry.  There  could  be  no  redress,  in 
fact  no  members  of  the  woman's  clan  would  seek  to  obtain  any 
redress ;  they  might  go  so  far  as  to  call  upon  the  husband  to 
explain  his  conduct,  and  this  he  would  readily  do.  If  a  wife 


96  TREATMENT  OF  WOMEN  [ch. 


appealed  to  her  clan  because  of  unkind  treatment,  they 
would  call  for  an  explanation,  and  should  it  be  proved  that 
the  woman  had  failed  in  some  respect  in  her  household  duties, 
nothing  more  would  be  said. 

On  the  other  hand  a  man  would  be  fined  by  his  wife's 
clan  if  she  died  in  childbirth ;  her  death  would  in  all  proba- 
bility be  attributed  to  adultery,  and  this  was  regarded  as 
due  to  negligence  on  the  part  of  her  husband,  or  failure  to 
guard  his  wife  and  to  protect  her  from  other  men. 

If  a  wife  found  it  impossible  to  please  her  husband,  and 
was  confident  that  she  was  in  the  right,  she  would  escape 
from  her  home  and  go  to  some  relative  who  she  knew 
would  take  her  part.  The  husband  would,  in  such  a  case, 
be  summoned  to  appear  before  a  representative  body  of  men 
belonging  to  the  wife's  clan,  and,  unless  he  could  satisfactorily 
explain  his  conduct,  he  would  be  fined,  and  be  called  upon 
to  give  his  wife  a  present  and  to  promise  to  treat  her  better 
if  she  would  return  to  him.  But  could  he  prove  reasonable 
cause  for  his  conduct,  for  example,  negligence  on  her  part 
in  keeping  the  garden,  or  bad  cooking,  his  wife  had  to 
promise  amendment;  the  husband  would  then  pay  a  pot 
of  beer  and  a  goat  to  the  wife's  relatives  for  her  visit  to 
them,  and  would  take  her  away.  There  were  however  cir- 
cumstances when  a  woman's  relatives  realised  that  she  was 
suffering  from  her  husband  more  than  could  be  endured 
and  decided  to  help  her;  they  would  therefore  take  the 
extreme  measure  of  restoring  the  original  marriage  fee  to 
the  husband,  and  declare  the  woman  to  be  free  from  the 
marriage  tie.  This  was  the  only  possible  way  in  which  a 
wife  could  secure  a  divorce  from  her  husband:  it  required 
the  co-operation  of  the  witnesses  who  had  acted  at  the 
time  of  the  marriage,  together  with  the  leading  members  of 
her  clan,  to  carry  the  matter  through  the  civil  courts,  if  the 
husband  appealed  against  them.  The  woman,  when  freed  from 
her  husband,  returned  to  her  clan,  where  she  might  again 
be  sought  in  marriage;  any  children  born  previous  to  the 
divorce  belonged  to  the  former  husband.  There  were  cases 


VI] 


UGANDA  CURRENCY 


97 


when  her  relatives  wished  to  help  a  wife,  but  the  court 
decided  against  her,  and  they  had  to  reluctantly  send  her 
back  to  her  husband.  If  her  unhappy  condition  continued, 
she  sought  opportunity  to  run  away  and  hide  with  some 
friend,  until  all  her  husband's  efforts  to  trace  her  should 
be  abandoned,  when  she  would  be  able  to  come  out  of  close 
hiding,  and  live  in  seclusion  in  some  remote  part  of  the 
country  where  she  would  not  be  recognised. 

Previous  to  the  advent  of  the  Arab  trader  with  goods 
from  civilised  countries,  the  Baganda  found  they  could  live 
comfortably  with  the  articles  of  food  and  clothing  produced 
in  their  own  country.  But  the  Arabs  aroused  the  desire  for 
other  products  such  as  cotton  goods,  and  they  also  created  and 
then  gratified  the  longing  of  the  people  for  firearms,  which 
they  affirmed  would  place  them  in  a  superior  position  to  their 
neighbours  in  military  operations.  The  native  spirit  had  for 
years  been  striving  after  more  knowledge  and  power,  and 
the  superiority  of  the  Arabs  created  a  desire  among  the 
better  class  of  people  to  imitate  them,  both  as  regards  clothing 
and  firearms ;  some  people  also  adopted  Mohammedanism  and 
learned  to  read  and  write  Swahili  in  Arabic  characters.  The 
common  currency  of  cowry-shells  had  been  in  use  for  many 
years  before  the  Arabs  arrived;  they  had  superseded  beads, 
because  only  a  limited  number  of  the  latter  had  reached  the 
country  from  Egypt ;  ivory  discs  had  also  fallen  into  disuse 
after  the  introduction  of  glass  beads.  When  larger  sums  of 
money  were  wanted  than  a  load  of  cowry-shells,  the  amount 
was  reckoned  by  cows;  even  slaves  were  purchased  by  the 
standard  of  the  cow.  Cowry-shells  were  carried  from  the  east 
coast  by  native  traders  to  the  south  shores  of  the  lake,  and 
worked  their  way  round  the  lake  along  the  western  shore; 
these  cowry-shells  were  pierced  and  threaded  on  plantain 
fibre  string,  a  hundred  on  a  string.  For  convenience  in 
counting  large  numbers,  ten  strings  were  tied  together,  and 
ten  thousand  cowry-shells  were  called  a  load.  The  value  of 
ivory  increased  when  Arab  traders  entered  the  country  and 
created  the  demand  for  it;  before  that  time  few  people 


R.  U. 


7 


98 


TRADE  IN  IVORY 


[CH. 


troubled  to  acquire  it,  and  the  principal  use  to  which  it  was 
put  was  the  making  of  bracelets  and  anklets,  that  is  after  the 
use  of  ivory  discs  as  money  had  ceased.  Ivory  was  found 
to  be  of  great  value  after  the  Arab  advent,  because  it  was  a 
form  in  which  riches  could  be  buried  and  be  safe  in  a  country 
where  there  were  no  banks,  and  where  the  wealth,  even  of  a 
powerful  chief,  might  be  the  cause  of  much  jealousy  and  the 
subject  of  flimsy,  idle  tales  and  reports  taken  to  the  king, 
who,  when  his  cupidity  was  aroused,  would  plunder  any 
rich  man  for  his  goods.  Often  a  rich  man  had  a  false  charge 
trumped  up  against  him,  which  enabled  the  king  to  fine  him, 
and  in  some  instances  a  man  would  be  condemned  to  death 
because  of  his  wealth,  which  was  then  confiscated.  For  many 
years  the  use  of  ivory  was  one  of  the  royal  prerogatives,  as 
also  were  lion  and  leopard  skins.  When  any  animal  of  either 
of  these  species  was  killed,  the  skin  was  taken  to  the  king  for 
his  use.  So  it  was  with  ivory;  when  an  elephant  was  killed  the 
tusks  were  taken  to  the  king.  Elephants  were  killed  in  former 
years  only  when  they  became  troublesome  and  destructive 
to  crops  or  other  property.  Natives  tell  stories  of  how  elephants 
at  times  became  bold  and  mischievous  and  during  the  night 
would  come  and  lift  a  small  hut  by  its  pinnacle  and  deposit  it 
in  another  spot,  leaving  the  occupants  shelterless  and  terrified. 

When  a  regular  trade  with  Arabs  sprang  up,  tusks  of  ivory 
were  secretly  obtained  by  chiefs  who,  in  view  of  the  demand, 
kept  professional  hunters.  Under  the  cover  of  night  they 
had  the  ivory  brought  to  the  capital,  and  buried  it  either 
in  their  huts  or  in  some  marked  place  in  their  gardens, 
where  it  would  remain  until  it  could  be  passed  on  to  an 
Arab  trader;  by  this  secret  method  chiefs  avoided  exciting 
the  greed  of  the  king  and  the  jealousy  of  a  superior  chief. 
In  early  days  no  regular  hunters  were  kept  by  chiefs,  but 
only  a  few  belonging  to  the  king  followed  the  chase;  when, 
however,  ivory  became  of  market  value,  and  a  regular  trade 
sprang  up,  certain  peasants  made  hunting  a  profession,  and 
found  employment  either  in  the  service  of  the  king  among  his 
hunters  or  in  that  of  important  chiefs.  The  ivory  obtained 


VI] 


BARK-CLOTH  AND  ITS  USE 


99 


by  the  king  and  the  chiefs  was  exchanged  for  cotton  goods, 
firearms,  and  ammunition. 

Calico  and  cotton  goods  soon  began  to  take  the  place  of 
the  bark-cloth  garment,  which  for  many  years  had  been  the 
national  dress  and  had  supplanted  the  skins  of  wild  and 
of  domestic  animals.  Bark-cloth  is  the  inner  bark  of  a 
species  of  wild  fig  tree;  every  peasant  was  expected  to 
plant  a  number  of  these  trees  in  his  garden,  and  in  two  years 
from  the  time  of  planting  the  trees,  the  man  could  strip  off 
the  bark  for  use.  The  mode  of  making  the  cloth  was  as  follows : 
the  tree  trunk  was  stripped  to  a  height  of  eight  or  ten  feet 
according  to  the  height  at  which  the  branches  forked  out; 
where  the  trunk  was  stripped,  it  was  smeared  with  cow- 
dung  and  wrapped  round  with  plantain  leaves,  and  a  new 
bark  soon  formed  which  after  ten  or  twelve  months  was  ready 
to  be  used  for  bark-cloth.  The  third  and  fourth  barks  thus 
grown  were  of  the  finest  quality,  though  the  tree  might  yield 
eight  or  more  barks.  The  bark  which  was  removed  was  scraped 
in  order  to  free  it  from  superfluous  sap,  and  was  beaten  on  a  log 
with  a  round  wooden  mallet  which  had  grooves  round  it,  until 
it  was  of  about  the  thickness  of  strong  brown  paper.  It  was 
spread  in  the  sun  to  dry,  and  the  exposed  side  took  a  darker 
colour,  brick  red  or  terra-cotta,  according  to  the  quality  of 
the  bark-cloth.  When  bark-cloth  became  the  national  dress 
in  the  reign  of  King  Semakulu,  about  a  hundred  years  ago,  he 
made  a  law  that  each  peasant  should  plant  a  number  of  trees 
on  his  land,  and  that  every  man  and  woman  should  be  clothed. 
Hitherto  men  and  women  had  been  careless  about  clothing, 
and  it  had  been  more  common  to  go  naked  than  to  wear 
clothes ;  from  that  time,  however,  every  nude  person  was  fined, 
and  people  came  to  regard  nudity  a  disgrace.  The  cost  of  bark- 
cloth  lay  in  the  labour  of  growing  the  trees,  stripping  them 
of  their  bark,  and  beating  it  out  to  the  required  thickness ; 
this  was,  after  all,  trifling  in  a  land  where  time  is  of  little  value. 

Compared  with  other  tribes  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
great  lakes,  the  progress  made  by  the  Baganda  in  civil, 
political,  and  social  matters  is  remarkable;  they  are  much 

7—2 


100 


CHAIRS  NOT  ALLOWED  [ch.  vi 


in  advance  of  all  tribes  near  them,  or  with  whom  they  could, 
under  the  old  tribal  travelling  restrictions,  come  in  contact 
in  the  past.  Custom  forbade  the  use  of  stools  or  of  chairs,  and 
it  was  not  until  a  small  child  was  raised  to  the  throne,  and 
had  to  be  placed  upon  a  raised  seat  in  order  to  be  seen,  that 
the  king  sat  upon  a  chair;  previously  kings  had  mounds 
of  earth  beaten  hard  with  a  smooth  surface,  upon  which  grass 
was  laid,  and  over  this  a  royal  rug  was  spread,  upon  which 
the  king  reclined  in  sight  of  the  people.  With  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  chair  a  new  office  of  chair  supporters  arose  among 
the  pages  of  the  king;  two  young  men  had  to  kneel  behind 
the  chair  and  hold  it,  lest  it  should  topple  over,  or  lest  the 
king  should  fall  from  it.  During  any  functions  when  the 
king  sat  in  state  these  two  men  knelt,  one  on  each  side, 
holding  the  chair,  and  they  retired  when  the  king  rose  to 
leave  the  room.  When  the  king  used  to  sit  on  a  rug,  it  was  the 
duty  of  two  of  the  greatest  chiefs  to  sit  at  the  corners  of  the 
mound  and  hold  the  rug  on  their  knees,  in  order  to  prevent 
any  man  from  brushing  by  it  or  from  stepping  over  it.  It  was 
a  capital  offence  for  any  passer-by  to  touch  the  king's  rug, 
hence  the  office  of  sitting  with  it  on  the  knees.  When  the  king 
used  a  chair,  the  rug  was  spread  beneath  the  chair,  and  the 
chiefs  still  retained  their  office  of  holding  it  on  state  occasions. 

Chiefs  and  peasants  sat  on  rugs  or  mats  until  quite  recently, 
when  the  king  gave  permission  for  chairs  and  stools  to  be 
introduced  into  the  court.  For  some  years  longer,  though 
men  used  chairs  and  stools,  women  were  forbidden  to  sit 
on  any  raised  seat,  but  even  that  restriction  has  vanished 
since  English  ladies  have  entered  the  country.  Alas!  the 
beautiful  bark-cloth  dress  of  the  women  has  also  given  place 
to  tawdry  blouses  and  skirts  introduced  by  Indian  traders, 
which  have  greatly  spoilt  the  stately  appearance  of  the 
women,  and  which  hide  the  graceful  carriage  for  which 
they  were  noted,  in  addition  to  taking  away  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  picturesque  dresses  ever  worn  in  the 
east  by  coloured  women. 


CHAPTER  VII 


KING  MWANGA— CIVIL  WARS— TEACHING  THE  KING 
[^NGLISH  missionaries  arrived  in  Uganda  during  the 


A  \*  reign  of  the  famous  King  Mutesa,  in  response  to  an 
appeal  made  by  the  great  explorer  Stanley  in  the  daily 
papers,  and  they  were  welcomed  to  the  court  of  Uganda. 
For  a  time  they  were  the  only  Christian  teachers,  but  later 
French  missionaries  were  tempted  to  follow.  These  latter 
did  not  remain  for  many  months  in  the  country,  but  after 
a  short  stay  retired,  from  what  they  considered  an  un- 
favourable situation,  to  their  mission  station  at  Bukoba, 
and  here  they  remained  until  they  deemed  the  country 
and  people  of  Uganda  ready  and  safer  for  their  teaching. 
The  Englishmen  were  left  to  bear  the  brunt  of  Arab  and 
native  opposition,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  Christianity. 
Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries,  the  Arab  traders 
had  taught  a  few  people  to  read  Ki-swahili  in  Arabic 
characters.  The  Baganda  have  ever  been  anxious  to  learn,  and 
the  Arabs  consented  to  teach  a  few  of  the  king's  pages  to 
read  and  write.  Before  this  no  Muganda  knew  any  system 
of  transmitting  his  thoughts  to  writing  or  of  making  any 
permanent  records,  but  sticks  were  used  to  represent  subjects 
or  messages,  so  as  to  aid  a  bearer's  memory  as  to  the  number 
of  subjects  which  he  had  to  relate.  Counting  was  well 
understood,  and  men  could  readily  count  into  thousands,  but 
they  always  spoke  of  ten  thousand  as  a  load,  because  it  was 
the  number  of  cowry-shells  which  a  man  could  carry. 

King  Mutesa  would  not  give  the  missionaries  permission 
to  go  freely  about  the  country  to  teach,  but  restricted  them 
to  a  special  locality;  they  were  expected  to  visit  the  royal 
residence  on  stated  days  and  to  walk  along  one  particular 
road  to  the  royal  enclosure.  There  a  number  of  youths,  with 
orders  to  learn  to  read  and  write,  were  presented  to  them. 


102 


NATIVE  ASTUTENESS 


[CH. 


Mutesa  was  a  shrewd  man  who  wished  to  keep  everything 
within  his  own  power  and  knowledge;  hence  only  a  few 
youths  were  granted  permission  to  learn  from  the  mis- 
sionaries, lest  there  should  be  a  number  of  men  wiser  than 
their  king.  There  is  a  good  story  told  of  the  acuteness  of 
King  Mutesa  in  dealing  with  an  Arab  trader  who  thought 
to  make  capital  of  the  king's  ignorance.  The  Arab  had  some 
choice  beads  which  took  the  king's  fancy,  and  he  wished  for 
more;  the  Arab  on  being  questioned  as  to  how  beads  were 
obtained,  replied  that  they  grew  from  seed,  and  further  stated 
that  he  had  a  few  seeds  of  the  particular  kind  of  beads  by 
him.  Mutesa  asked  the  man  if  he  could  give  a  few  lessons 
to  some  of  his  men  if  he  purchased  them,  and  if  he  would 
instruct  them  how  to  sow  and  attend  to  the  cultivation  of 
the  beads;  the  Arab  consented  on  the  understanding  that 
for  his  trouble  he  should  be  paid  a  high  sum  in  ivory  in 
addition  to  the  payment  for  the  seed.  King  Mutesa  bought 
the  beads  and  had  his  land  prepared ;  the  beads  were  duly 
sown  under  the  Arab's  supervision,  who  then  thought  his 
duties  at  an  end,  and  asked  for  his  pay  and  for  permission  to 
leave  the  country  with  his  ivory.  The  king,  however,  gravely 
informed  the  man  that  he  had  appointed  him  to  be  superin- 
tendent of  the  field  of  beads,  and  that  he  required  him  to 
watch  the  crop  until  it  was  ready  for  harvest,  when  he  would 
have  to  instruct  the  reapers  and  also  superintend  the  threshing. 
For  many  years  the  Arab  was  kept  a  prisoner,  waiting  for 
the  seeds  to  grow;  his  life  was,  however,  spared,  because  it 
was  said  he  would  be  a  greater  example  to  others,  if  he 
were  sent  away  to  the  coast  a  poor  man,  after  years  of 
imprisonment,  than  if  he  were  killed  and  forgotten. 

When  the  missionaries  arrived  in  Uganda,  they  were  given 
a  site  to  build  upon,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Arab  and 
Swahili  traders,  in  the  district  that  was  assigned  to  foreigners; 
they  had  permission  to  take  exercise  along  one  road  only, 
and  few  people  were  permitted  to  visit  them.  Though  they 
had  been  invited  into  the  country  as  teachers,  the  king 
regarded  them  with  considerable  suspicion  and  jealousy, 


vii]  MISSIONARIES  AND  ARABS  103 


and  this  was  increased  by  the  lying  tales  told  him  by  the 
traders,  who  disliked  the  presence  of  the  English,  because  they 
knew  that  their  slave  trade  was  doomed,  and  that  they  would 
be  compelled  to  deal  more  honestly  in  all  their  trading  transac- 
tions. Mutesa  had  been  under  the  impression  that  he  was 
the  greatest  monarch  on  earth,  until  Stanley  had  told  him 
about  Queen  Victoria;  and  the  missionaries  unwittingly 
added  to  the  king's  jealousy  by  enlarging  upon  the  theme 
of  her  Majesty's  greatness,  and  they  also  emphasised  the 
extent  of  her  kingdom,  which  it  is  needless  to  say  the  king 
did  not  believe.  Until  Europeans  made  their  appearance 
in  Uganda,  both  Arab  and  Swahili  traders  had  striven  to 
impress  Mutesa  with  the  greatness  of  his  own  kingdom  and 
power,  in  the  hope  of  getting  presents  from  him  by  this 
flattery  and  of  obtaining  better  terms  in  their  bargains. 
Mutesa  soon  realised  the  hostility  between  the  Arabs  and 
the  missionaries,  and  began  to  play  off  one  against  the 
other;  in  religious  matters  especially  he  delighted  to  pit 
one  against  the  other,  and  enjoyed  hearing  their  arguments. 
He  soon  discovered  that  the  English  were  far  more  clever 
than  the  Arabs,  and  he  also  found  that  he  could  extort  large 
sums  from  them  in  the  form  of  cotton  goods  on  the  most 
trivial  grounds.  The  missionaries  had  brought  large  stores 
of  things  such  as  Mutesa  wanted,  and  they  could  be  made 
to  part  with  them  when  they  wished  to  build  a  house,  or 
when  they  wanted  to  teach  a  few  boys,  or  again  when  they 
wished  to  go  to  the  lake  for  stores  or  letters.  He  quickly 
learnt  to  make  demands  upon  their  generosity  for  all  kinds 
of  purposes. 

Frequent  interviews  were  granted  to  the  missionaries  by 
the  king  when  he  wished  to  extort  goods;  he  also  professed 
to  be  impressed  by  their  religion  whenever  he  desired 
presents  from  them.  The  patience  and  persistence  of  these 
men  in  carrying  on  their  religious  work  is  beyond  praise; 
their  diligence  in  teaching  youths  under  the  most  trying 
circumstances  remains  on  record  as  an  example  to  be  followed 
by  missionaries  of  all  times.  They  never  spared  themselves 


104  NATIVE  PRIESTS  [ch. 

by  day  or  by  night  if  there  was  an  opportunity  to  teach, 
and  they  won  their  way  into  the  affections  of  the  youths 
who  attended  the  mission,  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  men  who  are  now  growing  old 
still  talk  in  the  highest  terms  of  praise  of  their  early  teachers, 
especially  Mackay  and  Ashe,  nor  that  they  have  their  children 
named  after  them  in  baptism. 

When  Mwanga,  Mutesa's  son,  came  to  the  throne,  there  were 
many  youths  under  instruction  at  the  English  mission.  This 
alarmed  the  Lubare  priests,  who  therefore  brought  pressure  to 
bear  upon  the  new  king  to  prohibit  people  from  visiting  the 
missionaries.  When  it  was  found  that  numbers  of  young 
people  continued  to  attend  the  mission,  more  stringent 
orders  were  issued  to  capture  and  execute  those  who  either 
attended  instruction  or  who  could  read.  Many  youths 
who  escaped  detection,  continued  to  visit  the  missionaries 
by  night,  because  they  could  not  go  by  day.  The  mis- 
sionaries had  to  work  by  night  when  the  country  was 
slumbering,  and  to  rest  by  day.  In  this  manner  numbers 
of  boys  were  taught  by  the  two  missionaries  mentioned 
above,  and  later  by  Gordon  and  Walker,  the  two  missionaries 
who  followed  them  when  Mackay  and  Ashe  left  the  country 
under  the  cloud  of  persecution.  These  were  the  men  who  laid 
the  foundation  of  what  has  proved  to  be  the  most  wonderful 
mission  of  modern  days. 

It  was  difficult  for  a  man  even  of  Mutesa's  qualities  to 
realise  that  missionaries  had  no  ulterior  motives,  and  that 
men  should  give  time  and  pay  money  to  be  permitted 
to  teach  was  to  him  inexplicable;  he  had  his  own  Lubare 
priests  and  gods,  and  he  knew  by  experience  that  it  was 
the  custom  of  priests  never  to  work  without  pay.  Arabs 
also  worked  upon  the  king's  credulity  so  as  to  make  him 
distrust  these  Englishmen,  saying  that  the  missionaries  wanted 
the  country,  and  that  they  were  the  forerunners  of  an  army  of 
white  people  who  would  come  to  seize  his  kingdom.  Thus 
they  strove  to  poison  the  mind  of  Mutesa  and  to  make 
him  look  with  suspicion  upon  his  guests  and  question  their 


vii]  PEOPLE  WHO  DELIGHT  IN  WAR  105 

motives.  With  Mwanga  they  were  still  more  successful  and 
they  effected  a  rising  of  Lubare  priests  against  the  followers 
of  Christianity.  The  most  favourably  disposed  Muganda  in 
those  early  days  believed  that  the  Englishmen  came  to 
Uganda  in  order  to  obtain  plantains  for  food,  because  the 
fruit  did  not  grow  in  England. 

Punitive  expeditions  and  warfare  have  always  been  the 
most  loved  occupation  of  the  Muganda;  they  were  like  the 
breath  of  life  to  him,  indeed  he  was  born 'to  fight;  his  birth 
was  dated  from  some  war  when  the  king  was  fighting 
against  some  adjacent  tribe,  and  his  death  was  marked  in  a 
similar  fashion.  He  was  happy  when  there  was  civil  war;  and 
sorry  when  the  custom  arose  of  putting  princes  to  death 
at  the  accession  of  a  new  king,  and  thus  ending  the  numerous 
civil  wars,  so  far  as  struggles  for  the  throne  on  the  part  of 
rival  princes  were  concerned.  By  the  loss  of  princes  who  might 
head  rebellions,  the  lower  orders  were  deprived  of  a  great 
amount  of  excitement,  for  secret  plottings  no  longer  took  place, 
and  the  nation  was  reduced  to  wars  against  surrounding 
tribes.  Accordingly  to  be  able  to  pit  English  against  Arabs 
afforded  constant  pleasure.  The  amusement  that  King 
Mutesa  and  his  chiefs  derived  from  the  differences  between 
the  Arabs  and  the  English  was  immense,  and  they  looked 
forward  to  their  disputes  with  considerable  relish.  Indeed 
these  encounters  afforded  pleasure  to  all  classes,  though  the 
religious  contentions  carried  little  weight  of  conviction  to 
the  majority  of  the  hearers.  It  will  be  readily  understood 
that  at  a  later  time  the  excitement  caused  by  the  arrest  and 
execution  of  Christians  roused  the  morbid  curiosity  of  such 
a  bloodthirsty  set  of  pagans. 

When  King  Mutesa  died  in  1884,  and  the  wise  control  which 
he  had  exercised  over  the  country  ended,  the  Arabs  made  a 
vigorous  attempt  to  obtain  ascendency  over  the  English. 
They  worked  upon  the  feelings  of  the  old  people  who  were 
devoted  to  their  Lubare  worship,  and  these  in  turn  worked 
upon  the  weakness  of  the  young  king.  Mwanga,  who  had 
some  knowledge  of  the  Christian  faith,  was  a  weak  youth. 


io6  A  VACILLATING  KING  [ch. 

He  had  often  been  to  the  mission  house  as  a  scholar,  he 
knew  much  of  what  was  done  there,  and  how  diligently 
the  missionaries  taught  each  boy ;  but  he  lacked  the  moral 
strength  of  his  father  to  follow  his  convictions  in  the  face  of 
opposition.  When,  therefore,  the  priests  began  to  warn  him 
that  his  country  would  be  ruined  if  he  permitted  this  new 
teaching  to  continue,  and  the  Arabs  told  him  false  stories 
about  the  purpose  of  the  missionaries,  he  became  alarmed, 
and  promised  to  try  to  stop  young  men  from  visiting  the 
mission  house.  He  was  not  like  his  father,  who  fearlessly 
in  defiance  of  the  Lubare  priests  broke  away  from  customs 
of  his  forefathers,  and  who  was  feared  to  so  great  an 
extent  that  his  commands  concerning  his  funeral  rites 
were  obeyed.  His  body  was  buried  with  the  jawbone 
attached,  and  he  was  not  deified,  as  had  been  the  earlier 
kings.  This  breach  of  custom  alarmed  the  people  and  the 
priests,  and  the  latter  determined  to  make  a  struggle  to 
reinstate  their  dishonoured  gods ;  accordingly  they  attributed 
all  kinds  of  sickness  and  misfortune,  which  occurred  at  the 
time,  to  the  wrath  of  the  dishonoured  gods,  and  at  length 
they  succeeded  in  making  Mwanga  afraid.  Under  the  insti- 
gation of  these  priests,  systematic  persecution  commenced  in 
which  hundreds  of  Readers,  as  the  Christians  were  called,  were 
captured  and  put  to  death.  Though  Mwanga  yielded  in  this 
matter  to  the  wishes  of  the  Arabs  and  the  Lubare  factions,  he 
had  not  a  friend  among  them,  for  each  party  distrusted  him. 
The  Christians  had  no  faith  in  him  because  of  the  persecutions 
which  he  had  sanctioned,  and  also  because  he  wished  to  stem 
the  tide  of  progress  and  reform ;  the  Islamic  party  would  not 
trust  him,  because  he  would  not  submit  to  the  outward  pro- 
fessions of  their  faith  and  be  circumcised;  and  the  heathen 
section  distrusted  him,  because  they  knewhe  was  not  a  believer 
in  the  old  Lubare  system.  Thus  Mwanga  stood  alone,  and  he 
realised  his  precarious  position  and  was  continually  making 
bids  for  friends  and  followers.  Instead  of  becoming  a  sincere 
follower  of  one  party  or  the  other,  he  sought  to  play  off  one 
against  the  other,  until  all  alike  rejected  him.  He  retained 


VII]  RELIGIOUS  PERSECUTION  107 


his  throne  only  because  of  the  difficulty  which  the  people 
had  in  finding  a  substitute,  owing  to  the  Baganda  rigid 
belief  that  the  king  must  be  a  prince  of  the  blood  royal, 
whose  father  had  reigned  before  him. 

The  Arabs  waited  until  they  saw  an  opportunity  to  act 
with  decision;  meanwhile  they  won  the  favour  of  two  young 
princes,  brothers  of  Mwanga.  One  of  these  they  then  put 
forward  as  king,  telling  their  followers  that  he  was  a  superior 
man  and  therefore  qualified  to  reign.  They  secured  a  large 
following  of  people  anxious  for  reform,  and  even  many  of 
the  Christians  followed  them,  after  being  promised  religious 
toleration.  A  rebellion  was  thereupon  raised,  and  Mwanga  was 
expelled  and  fled  to  the  lake,  where  he  went  by  canoe  to  one 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  stations  in  Bukoba.  There  he  remained 
until  some  months  later,  when  he  was  recalled  by  the  Christian 
community,  who  soon  learnt  how  they  had  been  deceived  by 
the  Islamic  party.  After  helping  to  dethrone  Mwanga  in 
the  hope  of  obtaining  religious  freedom,  they  had  been 
persecuted  far  more  than  before. 

In  the  meantime  the  Arabs  showed  their  intention  to  make 
Uganda  a  Mohammedan  country  by  trying  to  induce  Kiwewa, 
the  new  king,  to  submit  to  the  rite  of  circumcision.  When 
he  steadily  refused  to  become  a  full  member  of  the  faith, 
he  was  deposed,  and  his  brother  Kalema  was  raised  to  the 
throne.  Kiwewa,  after  his  brother  had  undergone  the  rites 
of  the  Islamic  faith,  was  burnt  to  death  in  the  house  in 
which  he  had  been  imprisoned.  This  was  done  lest  he  should 
escape,  and  secure  a  following,  and  fight  to  regain  his  throne. 
The  Islamic  party  soon  proved  itself  to  be  intolerant  towards 
the  Christian  party;  promises  solemnly  given  were  ruthlessly 
broken,  and  the  Christians  were  again  severely  persecuted. 
Thereupon  they  fled  the  country,  some  crossing  the  lake  to 
Busambiro  in  the  south  and  joining  their  friend  the  famous 
missionary  Mackay,  who  had  been  allowed  to  leave  Uganda, 
in  order  to  build  a  steamer  and  was  then  engaged  on  this 
work ;  others  going  into  Ankole  to  the  west  of  Uganda,  others 
again  to  Busoga  in  the  north,  while  the  rest  fled  to  Bunyoro — 


108  A  REIGN  OF  TERROR  [ch. 

anywhere  to  escape  from  the  Islamic  persecution.  The  dis- 
turbed state  of  the  country  prevented  people  from  carrying  on 
any  systematic  cultivation  of  the  land ;  according  to  custom  it 
was  illegal  for  any  person  to  follow  his  ordinary  agricultural 
duties,  while  the  country  was  unsettled.  The  term  Mirembe, 
which  is  applied  to  a  country  during  the  reign  of  a  king, 
signifies  the  peace  which  the  country  enjoys  while  there  is  a 
settled  government,  and  is  the  opposite  of  anarchy  and 
robbery,  which  arise  when  a  king  dies  or  flees  his  country. 
Any  person  who  attempted  to  cultivate  the  land  or  to  trade 
during  such  a  time  of  unsettlement  would  have  been  put  to 
death  for  so  doing.  Hence  the  country  ran  wild,  and  famine 
appeared.  The  Islamic  leaders  soon  attacked  the  heathen; 
the  Lubare  priests  had  to  flee  or  were  killed  by  these 
zealots;  every  temple  which  they  found  was  destroyed,  and 
all  the  sacred  objects  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon  were 
burnt. 

Another  fear  now  seized  the  Islamic  party  and  brought 
about  a  new  phase  of  persecution  in  Uganda  which  was 
contrary  to  all  the  old  customs.  It  was  said  that  princesses 
were  dangerous  and  might  become  aspirants  to  the  throne. 
The  Arabs  told  their  party  that  in  England  a  woman  ruled, 
and  that  the  Christians  would  undoubtedly  make  a  princess 
the  ruler,  and  so  they  urged  them  to  kill  all  the  princesses. 
In  consequence  every  princess  who  could  be  found  was 
either  shut  up  in  a  large  stockade  and  starved,  or  was  shut 
up  in  her  house  and  burnt  to  death;  only  a  few  of  the 
hundreds  of  princesses  who  were  in  the  country  when  the 
sentence  was  put  into  force  had  time  to  escape. 

Kalema,  the  new  king,  redistributed  the  land  among  his 
followers,  appointing  new  chiefs  to  rule  the  districts.  The 
people  who  remained  in  the  country  were  now  under  a 
million  in  number;  for  a  few  months  a  Mohammedan  king 
was  the  nominal  sovereign,  while  the  country  was  really 
ruled  by  Arabs  and  by  Swahili  traders. 

While  these  events  were  happening  in  Uganda,  the 
scattered  Christians  entered  into  communication  with  the 


VII] 


ARAB  INFLUENCE 


109 


exiled  king  Mwanga,  who  was  still  with  the  Roman  Catholics 
in  Bukoba.  He  promised  to  give  religious  freedom  in 
the  future,  if  they  would  assist  him  and  enable  him  to 
regain  his  throne.  In  view  of  these  promises  the  Christians 
agreed  to  support  Mwanga,  so  active  preparations  were 
made,  the  scattered  men  were  called  together,  and  Mwanga 
with  his  following  prepared  to  enter  Uganda  and  fight  for 
the  throne.  The  Islamic  party  were  attacked  on  the  lake  shore 
some  distance  from  Mengo,  the  capital,  and  after  several 
battles  they  were  driven  back,  and  Mwanga  was  enabled  to 
land  and  to  return  to  his  old  capital.  From  there  he  drove 
the  Mohammedans  to  the  north-west  towards  the  Bunyoro 
confines,  where  they  settled.  From  this  time  onwards  the 
banished  party  were  known  in  Uganda  as  the  Baislamu.  The 
country  again  became  moderately  quiet,  and  life  was  tolerably 
safe ;  new  chiefs  were  appointed  as  governors  of  districts,  and 
everything  pointed  to  a  prolonged  period  of  peace.  Hundreds 
of  people  had  died,  either  from  famine  or  from  plague  following 
upon  famine,  during  these  civil  wars,  so  that,  though  most  of 
the  fugitives  had  returned  to  their  homes,  the  population 
can  have  been  but  little  more  than  a  million  and  a  half. 
Mwanga,  when  still  at  Bukoba,  had  given  the  most  strongly 
worded  assurances  of  religious  liberty;  he  was,  however, 
still  under  the  influence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  priests,  who 
thought  that  the  country  was  leaning  too  much  to  the  English, 
and  who  therefore  urged  King  Mwanga  and  their  converts  to 
inaugurate  a  new  policy,  which  would  give  many  advantages  to 
Roman  Catholics.  This  caused  dissatisfaction,  and  sides  were 
taken,  in  which  one  party  called  themselves  Bafransa,  that 
is  French,  and  the  other  Bangareza,  that  is  English.  This 
new  trouble  has  often  been  described  as  a  religious  war 
between  two  Christian  parties,  but  the  actual  facts  show 
such  a  description  to  be  erroneous.  There  was  no  distinctive 
doctrinal  teaching  given  at  the  English  mission,  and  those 
who  were  anxious  to  learn  would  go  sometimes  to  one  and 
sometimes  to  the  other  mission,  without  knowing  that  there 
was  any  difference  between  the  religious  bodies.  Further, 


no 


CIVIL  WAR 


[CH. 


when  the  parties  were  formed,  it  was  found  that  there  were 
baptised  Protestants  among  the  French  adherents  who 
joined  because  of  their  desire  to  belong  to  the  king's  party. 
By  conviction  these  men  were  well  disposed  to  the  English, 
and  it  was  only  because  the  French  party  had  the  king 
among  them,  that  they  followed  the  latter.  The  whole 
rising  was  political,  and  not  religious;  the  question  of  a  creed 
was  with  the  people  a  secondary  consideration.  For  some 
months  there  were  no  open  hostilities,  but  later  on,  owing  to 
political  questions  chiefly  concerned  with  land,  the  differences 
began  to  assume  rather  dangerous  dimensions.  It  was  during 
these  unsettled  times  that  I  made  my  way  into  Uganda  itself, 
having  for  some  years  been  resident  in  what  was  afterwards 
known  as  German  East  Africa,  and  found  King  Mwanga 
playing  a  false  game  with  the  English  party.  The  main 
difficulty  arose  from  the  action  of  the  king,  who  at  the 
desire  of  his  people  had  sent  a  party  of  chiefs  to  the  coast, 
and  had  invited  the  representatives  of  the  Imperial  British 
East  Africa  Company  to  come  to  Uganda  to  help  him  to 
drive  out  the  Islamic  party,  and  then  to  stay  and  assist  him 
in  governing  the  country.  Members  of  the  I.B.E.A.  Co.  had 
arrived  with  a  number  of  Swahili  troops  under  the  leadership 
of  two  or  three  officers  of  the  Company.  King  Mwanga  had 
assured  these  gentlemen  before  they  entered  the  country  of 
his  wish  that  they  should  stay  and  had  agreed  to  sign  a  treaty 
to  hand  the  country  over  to  the  British.  The  French  priests, 
however,  did  not  want  the  country  to  become  English,  and 
induced  their  party  and  the  king  to  make  a  secret  treaty 
with  Germany  represented  by  Dr  Peters. 

After  some  months  of  unsettled  government  the  two 
parties  became  more  hostile;  daily  acts  causing  much 
irritation  were  committed  by  members  of  first  one  party  and 
then  the  other,  and  there  were  constant  misunderstandings. 
At  length  matters  came  to  a  head  by  a  murder  com- 
mitted in  the  capital;  a  man  passing  along  a  road  to  visit 
his  master  was  shot  dead  by  someone  hidden  in  the  en- 
closure of  a  leading  chief  of  the  French  party.  When  this 


VII] 


CIVIL  WAR 


in 


chief  was  requested  by  the  British  representative  of  the 
I.B.E.A.  Co.  to  surrender  the  culprit,  that  he  might  be  tried, 
he  firmly  refused,  and  the  French  party  armed  themselves  to 
resist  any  attempt  to  seize  the  murderer.  Sembera  Mackay, 
one  of  the  most  trusted  native  Protestant  Christians,  by 
birth  a  Musoga,  was  asked  to  visit  King  Mwanga,  and  to  try 
and  make  peace  by  persuading  the  king  to  order  the  chief 
to  give  up  the  culprit.  It  was  thought  by  the  leaders  of  the 
English  party  that  the  nationality  of  Sembera  Mackay  would 
induce  the  French  party  to  enter  more  readily  into  negotiations. 
Sembera  was,  however,  cruelly  shot  down  when  on  his  errand 
of  peace,  as  he  was  passing  the  residence  of  a  French  chief. 
This  additional  murder,  unprovoked  as  it  was,  irritated  the 
English  party  intensely,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty 
that  the  chiefs  restrained  their  men  from  attacking  the  French 
party.  The  European  Resident  was  indefatigable  in  his 
exertions  to  keep  the  peace,  and  he  even  risked  his  life  by 
passing  through  hostile  groups  of  armed  men  to  interview 
Mwanga,  endeavouring  to  secure  his  intervention  and  thus 
bring  the  murderers  to  j  ustice.  It  was  in  vain ;  the  French  party 
were  determined  to  prosecute  their  plans  and  secure  their  end 
by  force  of  arms,  and  war  broke  out  again,  this  time  between 
the  two  Christian  parties.  The  officers  of  the  I.B.E.A.Co.  con- 
sidered the  English  party  to  be  in  the  right  and  joined  forces 
with  them,  and  after  a  sharp  battle  the  French  party  was 
driven  from  the  capital;  Mwanga  fled  by  lake  to  southern 
Budu,  where  he  was  joined  by  his  army. 

This  first  battle  took  place  on  a  Sunday,  and  instead  of 
conducting  our  regular  services,  we  missionaries  had  to  go  to 
the  British  fort,  and  to  remain  there  all  day,  ministering  to  the 
wounded.  We  were  allowed  to  return  to  our  houses  the  same 
night,  because  the  enemy  had  been  driven  from  the  capital; 
but  for  weeks  we  never  felt  safe  by  night,  because  of  hostile 
natives,  who  went  about  after  sunset  setting  fire  to  houses. 
Three  English  missionaries  had  a  narrow  escape  from  the 
enemy;  they  were  in  Budu,  ignorant  of  the  events  in  the 
capital,  and  the  defeated  French  party  were  making  their  way 


112  NATIVES  DESTROY  A  BICYCLE  [ch. 


to  them,  when  news  reached  them  of  what  was  happening,  and 
they  had  to  flee  from  the  mission  station,  leaving  everything 
behind.  The  chief  of  the  district,  Nikodemu  Sebwato,  whose 
title  was  Pokino,  assisted  them  in  their  flight  and  conducted 
them  by  a  circuitous  route  to  the  capital;  he  also  supplied 
them  daily  with  native  food  and  attended  to  their  comfort  at 
each  resting  place. 

For  most  of  us  who  lived  in  the  capital  it  was  a  time  of 
short  rations.  The  fresh  supplies  of  English  stores,  which 
we  were  expecting  were  delayed,  and  this  disturbance 
increased  our  difficulty  in  getting  them.  Among  the  goods 
which  had  to  be  abandoned,  when  the  missionaries  fled  from 
Budu,  was  a  bicycle.  The  Rev.  R.  P.  Ashe  had  brought  out 
a  machine  to  see  whether  it  would  be  of  service  in  his 
missionary  work;  it  was  the  first  bicycle  which  the  natives 
had  seen,  and  their  delight  in  watching  Ashe  ride  was  intense. 
When  the  mission  was  looted  by  the  French  party,  some  of 
the  young  men  carried  off  the  bicycle  in  triumph,  thinking 
that  they  could  ride  it  at  once.  One  after  another  tried 
and  failed;  at  length,  in  anger,  they  brought  out  hatchets 
and  hacked  it  to  pieces.  Some  months  afterwards,  when 
peace  was  restored,  we  made  inquiries  about  the  bicycle  and 
were  told  of  its  fate,  the  narrator  adding  the  words:  "We 
cut  it  up,  because  it  knocked  down  every  man  who  tried 
to  ride  it." 

As  stated  above,  we  were  short  of  provisions.  There  was 
no  butcher's  meat  to  be  obtained  in  the  markets,  for  they 
were  all  closed ;  and,  as  we  had  run  out  of  English  provisions, 
we  had  to  live  upon  a  vegetable  diet  of  mashed  plantains  with 
boiled  wild  tomatoes  as  a  sauce;  even  salt  could  not  be  pro- 
cured. Fortunately  the  health  of  our  party  was  good  during 
the  weeks  when  we  could  not  obtain  supplies;  and  later,  when 
the  market  opened,  and  we  were  able  to  get  fresh  meat,  it 
was  an  immense  relief  to  add  this  to  the  previous  mono- 
tonous diet  of  unseasoned  vegetables.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  hostilities  most  of  the  peasants  had  killed  their  domestic 
animals  and  eaten  them,  because,  they  said,  the  possession 


PLATE  VIII 


PLATE  IX 


DISEMBARKING  FROM  CANOES  ON  LAKE  VICTORIA 


VII] 


MWANGA  REVOLTS 


of  such  wealth  involved  risks.  Besides  obtaining  the  luxury 
of  meat,  we  were  supplied  by  a  chief  with  fresh  milk,  which 
more  than  compensated  us  for  the  lack  of  English  food, 
such  as  biscuits,  tea,  and  sugar;  bread  was  an  unknown 
luxury  at  that  period  in  Uganda.  About  this  time  the 
Representative  of  the  I.B.E.A.  Co.  brought  some  troops 
belonging  to  Emin  Pasha  into  Uganda;  they  had  been  left 
near  Lake  Albert,  when  Stanley  took  Emin  to  the  coast, 
and  they  seemed  to  be  exactly  the  force  which  the  country 
needed,  to  enable  the  British  officers  to  make  a  stand 
against  the  native  forces  and  to  put  down  wrong  doing  and 
establish  justice.  We  now  know  that  it  was  a  mistake  to 
introduce  these  Sudanese  troops;  for  later  on  they  caused 
greater  trouble  and  more  deaths  of  British  and  of  loyal 
Baganda  than  all  the  previous  Uganda  risings.  These 
Sudanese  troops  were  the  offscouring  of  Gordon's  troops  in 
Khartoum,  and  had  been  found  so  unreliable,  that  they 
were  sent  into  the  interior,  in  order  to  be  out  of  the  way, 
and  to  be  brought  under  discipline.  For  a  time  after  entering 
Uganda  they  were  happy  with  their  new  surroundings,  but 
after  a  few  years  they  broke  into  rebellion  and  gave  endless 
trouble. 

In  the  year  1891  King  Mwanga  revolted  against  the 
British  authority  and  fled  to  the  south  of  Budu,  where  he 
remained  for  some  months,  fearing  that  he  might  be  im- 
prisoned or  punished  for  his  foolish  conduct  during  the 
recent  war.  It  took  weeks  before  the  British  official  could 
induce  him  to  return  to  his  capital.  During  his  stay  in 
southern  Budu  he  had,  with  the  assistance  of  the  French 
priests,  taken  possession  of  the  private  stores  of  several 
missionaries  at  the  German  station  of  Bukoba.  These  stores 
had  been  left  behind  by  Mr  Ashe,  when  he  was  coming  into 
Uganda  before  the  outbreak  of  the  French  and  English  war, 
and  the  principal  articles  were  books  and  English  provisions; 
the  books  were  burned,  the  scientific  instruments  were  de- 
stroyed, and  the  provisions  were  used.  Some  days  after 
Mwanga's  return  to  the  capital  Mr  Ashe  accompanied  me  to 


R.U. 


8 


H4    MWANGA'S  DESIRE  TO  LEARN  TO  READ  [ch. 


call  on  the  king,  as  I  had  not  been  able  to  make  his  acquaint- 
ance before  he  fled;  finding  that  he  spoke  Swahili  fluently, 
I  dismissed  the  interpreter,  and  we  talked  together.  This 
gave  me  an  opportunity  for  plain  speaking,  and  I  tried  to 
make  him  realise  the  wrong  he  had  done  in  taking  our  stores. 
Mwanga  confessed  that  he  had  used  the  stores,  and  he  was 
accordingly  told  how  dishonourable  he  had  been.  Mr  Ashe, 
who  spoke  Swahili  less  fluently,  supposed  that  Mwanga  was 
being  plainly  told  of  his  misdeeds,  and  he  feared  the  wisdom 
of  such  candour,  for  he  remembered  the  old  times  when  the 
king  had  unrestrained  power,  and  would  probably  have  put 
any  man  to  death  who  opposed  him  or  who  told  him  un- 
pleasant truths.  He  was  therefore  rather  anxious,  and  said 
to  me:  "In  the  olden  times  the  king  would  have  executed 
you  for  what  you  have  said."  Mwanga,  however,  took  the 
rebuke  in  a  good  spirit,  and  he  put  out  a  limp  hand,  saying: 
"You  are  my  friend;  you  are  the  first  white  man  who  has 
spoken  so  freely  to  me  and  told  me  what  he  thinks  of  me." 
This  straightforward  conversation  was  the  means  of  bringing 
about  a  good  understanding  between  us,  and  it  formed  a  link 
of  friendship  which  lasted  until  Mwanga  died. 

Some  months  later  Mwanga  became  displeased  with  the 
French  Fathers.  He  saw  that  his  country  was  settling  down 
quietly  under  the  increasing  influence  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment ;  so  he  asked  to  be  taught  to  read  the  Bible.  The  task 
of  teaching  him  fell  to  me,  and  two  evenings  of  each  week 
were  devoted  to  reading  and  to  the  study  of  the  New 
Testament,  which  he  seemed  to  enjoy.  He  soon  became 
most  friendly  with  me,  and  even  confidential,  and  he  talked 
to  me  freely  about  his  past  life  and  all  that  he  had  done 
during  his  wanderings  in  Budu.  He  would  sometimes  talk 
about  his  early  years,  and  say  that  he  had  sanctioned  the 
execution  of  young  people  who  were  Christians;  he  always 
added  that  this  was  due  to  the  influence  of  the  Lubare 
priests.  He  did  not  like  to  speak  about  Bishop  Hannington's 
murder;  that  was  a  subject  he  always  sought  to  avoid. 
There  were  times  when  he  seemed  on  the  verge  of  becoming 


VII] 


A  ROYAL  PUPIL 


115 


a  sincere  Christian,  but  he  feared  to  take  a  step  which  would 
bring  him  into  direct  conflict  with  some  of  his  worst 
passions.  So  far  as  it  was  possible  to  gather  from  scraps 
of  information  gleaned  from  these  conversations,  he  was 
sorry  for  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the  persecutions  and 
especially  for  the  murder  of  Hannington.  Fear  of  the  Lubare 
priests  and  dread  lest  he  should  lose  his  country  had  caused 
him  to  consent  to  the  executions.  The  Lubare  priests  had 
reminded  him  of  an  old  tradition  that  the  conquerors  of  his 
country  would  approach  through  Kavirondo  and  Busoga  by 
a  way  which  they  termed  the  "  back  door  " ;  his  superstitious 
fears  had  been  roused,  and  he  had  yielded  to  the  wishes  of 
his  advisers. 

As  a  pupil  Mwanga  was  quick  and  intelligent,  he  had  a 
retentive  memory,  and  he  soon  read  fluently  and  also  took 
a  deep  interest  in  the  New  Testament,  which  we  read 
through  at  least  twice.  His  knowledge  of  his  country  was 
remarkable ;  from  descriptions  which  he  had  obtained  from 
his  subjects  he  could  give  detailed  accounts,  and  often 
describe  the  physical  features  of  some  locality  so  accurately 
that  it  was  difficult  to  believe  that  he  had  not  been  there. 
When  free  from  the  effects  of  vice,  especially  from  the  effects 
of  Indian  hemp  smoking,  he  was  amusing,  having  a  fund  of 
stories,  and  enjoying  a  joke.  At  one  time  he  was  a  regular 
attendant  at  the  Sunday  morning  service  in  the  cathedral, 
and  he  was  also  present  at  the  funeral  service,  when  the 
remains  of  Hannington  were  buried  on  Namirembe  Hill  near 
by  the  cathedral.  Much  of  Mwanga's  so-called  bloodthirsty 
nature  was  doubtless  due  to  Indian  hemp  smoking;  this 
vice  to  which  he  had  become  addicted  shattered  his  nerves. 
The  drug  had  an  injurious  effect  upon  him,  his  moral 
character  was  undermined,  and  he  yielded  to  the  worst 
passions  of  nature,  while  his  powers  of  self-restraint  were 
weakened. 

There  was,  however,  much  good  feeling  and  even  tender- 
ness in  his  character  when  he  could  be  kept  from  his 
bad  habits  and  was  free  from  evil  influences.  Whenever  he 


8—2 


n6  A  ROYAL  GIFT  [ch 

fell  into  habits  of  vice,  he  would  give  way  to  terrible  passions 
being  unable  to  restrain  his  lusts  towards  his  page  boys 
Afterwards  he  would  suffer  torture  mentally  and  physically, 
and  be  more  like  an  irresponsible  person  than  a  sane  man. 
He  struggled  feebly  against  these  passions,  and  was  always 
most  grateful  for  any  help  or  sympathy.  It  was  during  one 
of  these  falls  at  a  time  when  I  was  absent  from  the  country, 
that  he  fled  from  Mengo  his  capital,  and  revolted  against 
the  British.  This  cost  him  his  throne,  for  he  was  captured 
while  still  in  open  revolt,  and  was  deported  to  Seychelles, 
where  he  died.  After  his  capture  it  was  pathetic  to  hear  him 
say  sadly:  "Ah,  Roscoe,  if  only  you  had  been  there,  I  should 
not  have  revolted,  but  someone  told  me  that  I  was  going 
to  be  imprisoned.' '  His  yielding  to  evil  influences  and  his 
foolish  actions  showed  how  unfit  he  was  for  the  high  office 
of  a  king. 

There  are  some  amusing  incidents  which  remain  fixed  in 
my  memory  in  connection  with  Mwanga  and  these  it  may 
be  permissible  to  record,  as  they  show  something  of  native 
character,  and  also  give  an  idea  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  kings  travelled  and  of  the  etiquette  of  the  country;  they 
also  show  how  overbearing  the  pages  were  towards  ordinary 
people  when  the  king  was  travelling.  On  one  occasion 
Mwanga  was  disposed  to  give  me  a  cow  and  calf;  so  he 
sent  a  splendid  animal  which  was  a  favourite  with  his 
herdsman.  When  the  chief  herdsman  learnt  what  had  hap- 
pened, he  went  to  the  king,  and  begged  him  to  ask  for  the 
return  of  the  cow  and  to  send  another  in  its  place.  The  cow 
had  already  reached  me  and  had  been  sent  to  the  kraal  near 
by,  when  a  messenger  came,  saying  there  had  been  a  mistake, 
and  asking  that  the  animal  might  be  returned.  I  replied 
that  it  was  quite  satisfactory,  and  that  I  had  thanked  the 
king  for  it,  so  that  there  need  be  no  further  trouble.  After 
a  short  time  another  messenger  came,  saying  that  two  cows 
with  their  calves  would  be  given  me,  if  this  particular  cow 
were  returned.  A  polite  refusal  was  sent  with  assurances 
that  I  was  satisfied,  and  that  the  king  need  not  trouble  to 


VII] 


A  ROYAL  VISITOR 


117 


exchange  the  cow.  Later  on  came  a  third  messenger,  saying 
that  the  king  would  give  me  a  woman  slave,  if  the  cow  were 
returned.  The  answer  to  this  proposal  was:  "The  English- 
man has  no  use  for  slave  women  and  disapproves  of  slavery." 
Finally  two  slave  women  were  offered,  but  in  vain ;  the  cow 
remained  and  proved  to  be  an  excellent  animal  which  lived 
to  see  its  great  grandchildren. 

Another  amusing  incident  was  occasioned  by  a  visit  from 
the  king  to  take  afternoon  tea.  In  those  days  English 
provisions  were  scarce,  for  they  could  only  be  obtained  by 
the  caravans  sent  up  each  year,  and  the  cost  of  carriage 
made  them  great  luxuries;  and  in  this  case  there  was  the 
fact  to  be  remembered  that  the  stores  were  low,  and  that 
it  would  take  months  to  have  a  fresh  order  executed  and 
goods  sent  out.  Former  experience  had  taught  how  unin- 
teresting food  can  be  when  it  consists  of  mashed  plantains 
only,  and  this  experience  counselled  care.  At  this  period 
there  was  no  bread  in  the  country  and  even  ship's  biscuits 
were  a  luxury;  still  when  a  king  proposes  to  pay  a  visit, 
it  is  right  that  he  should  have  the  best  placed  before 
him.  When  Mwanga  proposed  coming  to  tea,  we,  that  is 
my  companion,  Mr  Millar,  and  I,  had  but  two  tins  of  Osborne 
biscuits;  we  had  to  manage  with  these  until  other  stores 
could  arrive,  and  there  was  no  news  of  these  having  been 
despatched  from  the  coast.  Only  men  who  have  been  reduced 
to  native  food  can  tell  how  delightful  it  is  to  sit  down  in 
the  afternoon  and  enjoy  tea  with  cow's  milk  and  a  cabin 
biscuit  or,  as  an  extra  treat,  an  Osborne  biscuit  added;  it 
changes  the  monotony  from  goat  mutton  with  mashed 
plantain  three  times  each  day.  Salt  was  a  luxury,  and  not 
a  grain  was  allowed  to  remain  on  the  plate  after  a  meal; 
it  was  carefully  restored  to  a  bottle  for  future  use  and 
stoppered  to  keep  out  any  damp;  a  bottle  weighing  two 
pounds  was  worth  any  sum  from  ten  to  twenty  shillings. 
As  for  jam,  sugar,  preserved  fruits,  and  such  like  goods, 
they  were  only  produced  to  tempt  the  appetite  of  a  patient 
recovering  from  fever  or  from  some  tropical  complaint. 


Ii8       A  KING'S  METHOD  OF  TRAVELLING  [ch. 


To  return  from  this  digression  to  Mwanga's  visit:  the 
king  duly  came  with  his  retinue  on  that  ever  to  be  remembered 
afternoon,  and  sat  at  the  table  with  Mr  Millar  and  myself. 
In  those  days  no  person  of  note  could  move  even  to  visit 
his  friend  without  a  following  of  from  forty  to  a  hundred 
men,  and  the  king's  followers  always  numbered  hundreds. 
Before  his  Majesty  arrived,  a  number  of  pages  were  sent 
according  to  etiquette  to  announce  his  coming.  These  youths 
came  one  after  the  other  in  quick  succession;  the  first  was 
despatched  when  the  king  left  the  royal  enclosure,  and  as 
soon  as  he  was  well  off,  a  second  was  sent,  and  so  on,  boys 
being  sent  every  few  yards.  They  ran  to  my  house  and  then 
returned  to  their  master,  thus  keeping  up  a  stream  of  youths 
running  backwards  and  forwards  until  the  king  reached  the 
house.  When  the  first  messenger  reached  me,  he  knelt  down 
and  said:  "The  king  has  sent  me  to  ask  how  you  are;  he  is 
on  the  way";  to  which  the  reply  was  :  "I  am  well,  how  is 
he?  go  and  tell  him  I  am  well  and  waiting  for  him";  this 
had  to  be  repeated  as  each  page  came.  The  fashion  at  the 
time  was  to  wear  white  cotton  knee-breeches,  with  a  sheet  of 
calico  three  yards  square  tied  by  two  ends  round  the  neck 
and  the  other  two  corners  round  the  waist  and  loose  in  the 
middle.  This  white  flowing  garment  filled  with  wind  as  the 
pages  ran,  and  looked  most  imposing,  like  a  white  balloon, 
adding  to  the  glory  of  the  procession  which  came  along  at 
a  good  pace,  the  king  sitting  upon  the  shoulders  of  one  of 
his  bearers,  with  attendants  upon  each  side;  while  peasants 
and  other  folk  made  way  for  the  royal  party,  some  kneeling 
by  the  road  side  to  greet  the  king  as  he  passed,  others 
running  into  gardens  or  down  side  roads  for  fear  of  being 
roughly  handled  by  the  guard,  and  flutes  were  played  in 
front  by  some  of  the  pages,  making  marching  music  for 
the  procession. 

It  was  a  custom,  when  the  king  went  either  to  visit  in 
the  neighbourhood,  or  on  longer  journeys  into  more  remote 
parts  of  his  kingdom,  for  his  followers,  especially  the  page 
boys,  to  rob  and  plunder  wherever  they  went;  houses, 


VII] 


A  KING'S  LOVE  FOR  BISCUITS 


119 


gardens,  herds  of  goats  and  sheep,  all  they  could  lay  their 
hands  upon,  were  appropriated,  and  if  any  pedestrian  tried 
to  pass  them  in  the  road,  he  was  roughly  handled,  and  at 
times  maimed  or  even  killed  for  not  giving  place  to  the  royal 
procession. 

The  flutes  and  drums  announced  to  us  the  approach  of 
the  king,  and  he  was  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  a  strong 
man  to  a  mat  near  the  door;  then  his  bearer  kneeled  down, 
and  the  king  stepped  on  the  mat  and,  walking  into  the  room, 
took  his  seat  at  the  table  after  shaking  hands.  Tea  was  at 
once  brought  in,  and  one  of  the  two  precious  tins  of  biscuits 
was  placed  on  the  table;  at  that  time  we  did  not  possess 
any  more  tea  ware  than  was  needed  for  use,  and  that  was  all 
enamel  ware.  The  king  tried  a  biscuit  and  approving  helped 
himself  to  several  more.  In  the  meantime  as  many  of  his 
more  select  followers  as  could  do  so,  had  crowded  into  the 
room  and  were  sitting  on  the  floor  in  every  available  place. 
The  king  next  asked :  "  Who  made  these  biscuits?  "  When  told 
"Messrs  Huntley  and  Palmer,"  he  replied:  "They  shall  be 
my  bakers  in  the  future,"  and  with  that  he  began  to  dole 
out  the  biscuits  to  his  favourite  followers,  in  order  that  they 
might  verify  his  remarks  as  to  their  good  quality.  We  two 
missionaries  looked  on  with  anxious  eyes,  as  our  precious 
store  was  thus  demolished,  but  respect  for  the  royal  guest 
kept  us  from  making  any  remark.  When  tea  ended,  there 
remained  less  than  half  a  tin  of  biscuits.  Mwanga  talked 
freely  and  pleasantly  for  fully  an  hour  and  then  rose  to  go, 
and  as  he  did  so,  he  took  the  tin  of  biscuits,  put  the  lid  on  it, 
and  handed  it  to  one  of  the  pages,  saying:  "Take  this  home 
for  me."  So  ended  the  first  royal  visit  which  I  received  from 
Mwanga,  and  with  it  ended  one  of  the  two  tins  of  biscuits. 

The  next  story  is  told  in  order  to  warn  young  people  against 
rashly  accusing  natives  of  wrong-doing  even  in  jest ;  it  also 
shows  how  readily  men  accepted  a  poison  trial  in  olden 
times.  It  has  no  bearing  upon  the  king,  but  illustrates  the 
character  of  cowmen,  who  in  the  early  days  of  the  mission 
were  said  to  be  inseparable  from  their  cows. 


120      EXTORTING  TRUTH  BY  ELECTRICITY  [ch. 


It  was  commonly  said  by  the  natives  that  cowmen  were 
the  greatest  thieves  in  the  country.  There  was  also  a 
proverb  to  the  effect  that  nothing  but  death  would  de- 
prive a  cowman  of  his  cows.  There  was  a  time  when 
such  a  remark  might  have  been  justified,  especially  if 
it  referred  to  cows  belonging  to  either  an  Englishman  or 
a  Muganda.  Cowmen  were  certainly  adepts  in  stealing  cows. 

One  morning  after  lectures  in  the  theological  school  were 
ended,  I  was  engaged  in  opening  a  box  containing  drugs 
which  had  just  arrived  from  England,  and  my  companion, 
Mr  Millar,  was  fitting  up  a  battery  which  had  been  sent 
to  help  to  cure  him  from  an  attack  of  facial  paralysis. 
As  we  were  thus  busy,  a  cowman,  the  servant  of  a 
friend  who  had  gone  to  England,  walked  into  the  room 
and  squatted  down  looking  on.  Jokingly  I  said:  "Well,  you 
old  scamp,  how  many  cows  have  you  stolen  since  your  master 
left  for  England? "  The  man  protested  that  he  would  not 
steal  a  single  cow;  for  what  would  his  master  do  for  milk 
on  his  return,  if  he  took  them,  and  so  forth.  I  still  pro- 
fessed doubt  of  such  honesty,  when  the  man  suddenly 
turned  the  tables  on  me,  and  asked  what  there  was  in  the 
bottle  which  I  held  in  my  hand.  I  told  him  poisonous  medi- 
cine, to  which  he  replied:  "Give  me  a  little,  and  I  will 
swallow  it  to  prove  my  innocency."  Of  course  I  was  obliged 
to  refuse,  whereupon  the  man  said:  "You  accuse  me  of  dis- 
honesty, and  deny  me  the  means  of  proving  my  innocency, 
so  I  will  ask  the  prime  minister  to  help  me."  I  was  in  a 
dilemma ;  I  durst  not  give  the  drug,  because  it  would  certainly 
have  killed  the  man,  and  I  did  not  like  to  be  thus  put  in  the 
wrong;  fortunately  a  happy  thought  struck  me,  and  turning 
to  Millar,  I  asked  whether  his  battery  was  ready  for  use. 
Receiving  a  favourable  reply,  I  said:  "Then  let  this  cowman 
try  it " ;  and  turning  to  the  man,  I  said :  "  If  you  can  hold  these 
two  handles  without  shouting  you  are  innocent,  but  if  you 
shout  or  call  out,  you  are  guilty."  He  consented  and  seized 
the  handles  with  great  readiness.  Millar  put  on  cell  after 
cell,  as  he  saw  the  man  could  bear  it,  until  his  face  changed 


VII] 


CONFESSION  OF  THEFT 


121 


colour,  and  his  hands  began  to  shake,  and  presently  he 
twisted  them  up  against  his  chest  with  a  shout  and  cried: 
"I  have  the  cows;  let  me  go,  and  I  will  bring  them."  The 
battery  was  stopped,  and  the  man  not  only  confessed  his 
guilt,  but  produced  two  cows  and  two  calves  which  he 
had  stolen. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


DEATH  OF  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  PRINCE  KALEMA— RE- 
TURN OF  THE  ISLAMIC  BAGANDA  TO  THEIR  COUNTRY- 
SUDANESE  REBELLION— LOYAL  BAGANDA— 
REDISTRIBUTION  OF  LAND 

DURING  the  first  year  of  Mwanga's  reign,  after  his  return 
from  southern  Budu,  news  came  to  the  capital  from 
the  southern  district  of  Bunyoro,  announcing  the  death  of 
Kalema  who  had  been  the  Mohammedan  king.  It  was  to 
southern  Bunyoro  that  the  Islamic  party  fled  when  they 
were  defeated  in  Mengo;  there  they  settled  and  formed 
a  small  colony ;  and  from  this  district  they  made  occasional 
raids  upon  their  brethren  in  the  more  isolated  districts  in 
Uganda,  to  plunder,  and  to  enslave  any  one  whom  they 
captured. 

The  British  officer  representing  the  I.B.E.A.  Co.  sent  to 
the  Islamic  Baganda,  inviting  them  to  return  to  their  own 
land  when  Kalema  died,  and  promising  them  estates  to  settle 
upon,  and  safety,  if  they  would  for  their  part  be  loyal  to 
King  Mwanga  and  his  chiefs.  The  chiefs  in  Uganda  with 
Mwanga  had  given  their  approval  to  this  message.  The  offer 
was  accepted,  and  in  due  course  the  Islamic  party  returned 
and  settled  in  two  small  districts  which  were  given  them ;  at 
the  same  time  the  French  party,  which  were  settled  in  Budu 
under  their  old  leader  Mugwanya,  were  granted  an  extension 
of  country  and  special  laws,  which  made  them  responsible 
to  the  king,  but  otherwise  free  from  the  governing  body  in 
Mengo.  The  country  thus  again  at  peace  became  prosperous; 
the  old  markets  which  had  been  deserted  for  months  were 
again  opened  by  people  who  brought  their  wares  for  sale, 
and  it  was  possible  to  buy  meat  and  fish,  with  other  native 
products  suitable  to  supply  the  daily  need,  in  addition  to 
many  useful  articles  and  wares,  such  as  agricultural  imple- 
ments and  household  pots.  Land  that  had  fallen  into  disuse 


CH.  viii]  A  SEASON  OF  PEACE 


123 


was  reoccupied,  and  plantain  groves  which  had  become  wild 
and  overgrown  with  creepers  were  recovered  and  soon  began 
to  bear  fruit,  while  food  became  daily  more  plentiful. 

With  this  prosperity,  and  the  assurance  that  the  British 
officers  would  stand  by  those  who  remained  loyal  and  kept 
the  laws,  chiefs  felt  it  safe  to  return  to  their  country  estates; 
their  peasants  began  to  build  new  huts,  and  peasant  women 
began  to  work  their  fields,  and  all  seemed  to  promise  a 
period  of  happiness.  Roads  that  had  fallen  into  disuse  and 
become  overgrown  during  years  of  war  were  reopened,  and 
people  were  to  be  found  traversing  them,  going  to  the  capital 
from  their  homes  in  the  country,  as  in  olden  times,  carrying 
food,  either  for  sale,  or  for  their  chief's  use,  in  accordance  with 
the  old  feudal  system.  There  was,  however,  a  difference  in 
the  populations  that  reoccupied  the  districts,  because  many 
people  who  by  birth  belonged  to  particular  districts,  and 
who  had  never  left  their  old  surroundings  before  the  war, 
were  now  living  in  new  places  under  the  altered  conditions ; 
there  were  those  from  Budu  who  had  fled  with  their  former 
chiefs  and  were  now  in  Kyagwe,  while  those  from  Kyagwe 
had  gone  into  Budu  with  their  chiefs  belonging  to  the 
French  party.  Many  of  these  older  inhabitants  never  really 
settled  down  in  their  new  homes,  and  it  was  known  that 
they  would  return  to  their  old  localities,  as  soon  as  they  felt 
they  could  do  so  with  safety. 

It  was  when  there  seemed  to  be  every  prospect  of  continued 
peace  that  word  came  to  the  officers  of  the  I.B.E.A.  Co., 
recalling  them  from  Uganda ;  they  were  ordered  to  leave  and 
to  return  to  the  coast  because  of  the  increased  expense  to 
the  Company's  finances.  With  the  nobility  of  character 
for  which  officers  of  our  army  are  famous,  Captain  Williams, 
R.A.,  the  officer  commanding  Kampala,  determined  to 
remain  in  Uganda  and  to  be  responsible  for  the  Sudanese 
troops  and  their  pay  and  for  the  general  expenditure  necessary 
for  the  British  occupation  of  the  country,  rather  than  to  leave 
the  people  to  anarchy  and  bloodshed.  He  appealed  to  the 
missionaries  to  help  him  out  of  their  allowances  to  make  up 


124  UGANDA  BECOMES  BRITISH  [ch. 


the  sum  which  he  knew  would  be  required  for  his  stay,  but 
when  he  heard  what  small  stipends  they  received,  he  realised 
that  this  would  be  of  no  material  value  to  him.  Nevertheless  he 
resolved  to  hold  on  and  to  appeal  to  the  British  public,  for 
he  knew  that  his  presence  was  necessary  for  law  and  order. 

During  these  troubled  months  it  was  quite  customary  for 
men  to  carry  firearms  for  protection  daily;  even  when  going 
to  church,  guns  were  carried,  which  were  stacked  near  the 
entrance,  where  guards  were  set  during  the  time  of  service, 
because  the  two  parties  had  not  learned  to  trust  each 
other  as  yet.  It  was  a  great  relief  to  all  concerned  when 
a  few  days  after  the  order  had  come  to  the  British  officers 
to  leave,  a  second  cable  arrived  telling  them  to  remain,  as 
funds  had  been  provided  for  them  to  continue  to  rule  the 
country  for  a  longer  period.  A  week  or  two  later  the  explana- 
tion came,  namely  that  through  an  appeal  of  Bishop  Tucker 
•at  a  missionary  meeting  the  sum  of  £800  had  been  raised, 
in  order  to  retain  Uganda.  A  few  months  later  a  party  of 
Royal  Engineers,  who  were  surveying  the  country  for  a 
railroad  from  Mombasa  to  Lake  Victoria,  entered  Uganda; 
the  leaders,  Captains  Macdonald  and  Pringle,  had  duties  to 
carry  out  in  connection  with  their  work  of  survey,  which  de- 
tained them  some  months  in  Uganda.  In  1893  the  Consul- 
General  of  Zanzibar,  Sir  Gerald  Portal,  arrived  with  a  party, 
to  make  inquiries  into  the  state  of  the  country,  with  the 
object'  of  reporting  to  the  British  Government,  whether  or 
not  it  would  be  advisable  for  England  to  take  over  Uganda 
as  a  Protectorate.  The  result  of  Sir  Gerald  Portal's  visit 
and  inquiry  is  well  known;  England  took  over  Uganda  and 
also  the  country  from  the  lake  to  the  coast,  which  is  known 
as  the  East  African  Protectorate.  With  the  new  treaty  the 
Imperial  East  African  Protectorate  Company  ceased  to  exist, 
and  the  British  flag  began  to  fly  over  the  old  fort  on  Kampala 
hill.  These  stirring  times  of  civil  wars  had  not  been  without 
their  excitements  and  dangers;  one  of  the  worst  conflicts 
between  the  two  parties,  French  and  English,  had  revealed  to 
us  how  bitter  people  could  become  in  their  desire  to  be  the 


VIII] 


FEARS  FROM  INCENDIARISM 


125 


dominant  party;  clans  and  even  brothers  were  divided  and 
took  opposite  sides.  Such  a  state  of  clan  animosity  would 
have  been  inconceivable  before  the  people  began  to  take 
political  sides;  the  old  tiesof  primitive  customs  had  now  broken 
down,  and  there  was  nothing  to  bind  the  families  as  before. 

The  chief  cause  for  anxiety  which  we  missionaries  had  during 
this  time  was  from  incendiarism;  our  houses  were  built  of 
reeds  and  grass,  and  would  have  burned  down  in  a  few  minutes, 
had  they  been  set  on  fire  by  the  enemies  who,  for  weeks,  were 
going  about  by  night,  setting  fire  to  native  houses  belonging 
to  men  of  the  opposite  party  to  their  own.   Later  in  my 
Uganda  experience,  I  had  my  house  burned  down  accidentally 
by  a  workman,  who  carelessly  set  fire  to  his  own  hut  when 
burning  out  biting  ants ;  the  wind  then  carried  some  burning 
grass  from  the  hut  to  my  house,  and  it  caught  fire.  It  was 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  hottest  part  of  the  day, 
and  in  a  few  moments  the  house  was  reduced  to  ashes.  Though 
I  was  in  the  house,  I  had  no  time  to  bring  out  my  possessions 
such  as  clothing,  I  could  only  save  the  mail  which  had  arrived 
for  the  mission,  and  then  I  fled  just  as  the  burning  roof  was 
falling  in  on  me.  Friends  kindly  supplied  me  with  food, 
clothing,  and  shelter,  until  other  things  could  be  obtained. 
Owing  to  the  fierceness  of  this  fire,  and  the  blowing  of  a  strong 
wind,  another  mission  house,  some  fifty  yards  distant,  caught 
fire  and  was  also  burned  down,  and  two  men  like  myself  were 
rendered  homeless  and  lost  their  belongings.  When  a  native 
hut  catches  fire,  the  inmates  first  see  that  their  children  are 
carried  out  of  danger,  and  afterwards  throw  out  as  much  of 
their  property  as  possible  before  the  flames  become  too  fierce 
for  them  to  remain;  they  seldom  try  to  extinguish  the  flames, 
but  only  endeavour  to  save  other  houses  near;  this  they  do 
by  mounting  the  roof  and  beating  off  the  sparks  as  they 
fall  upon  the  thatch.  The  men  who  mount  the  roofs  are 
armed  with  leafy  branches,  and  they  sweep  off  the  sparks 
as  they  fall;  there  are  often  showers  of  sparks  from  these 
fires,  and  as  huts  are  usually  built  rather  closely  together, 
the  work  of  the  men  coping  with  the  fire  is  at  times  difficult 


126  EMANCIPATION  OF  SLAVES  [ch. 


and  rather  dangerous.  On  one  occasion  I  arrived  at  a  house 
which  was  on  fire;  the  woman  had  thrown  out  most  of  her 
goods  and  was  watching  the  fire,  when  she  realised  that  she 
had  overlooked  her  baby;  she  was  beside  herself  with  frenzied 
grief  and  had  to  be  held,  lest  she  should  rush  into  the 
flames  to  try  to  rescue  the  child.  When  the  fire  burned  out, 
the  remains  of  the  dead  baby  were  found,  wrapped  in  the 
bark-cloth  in  which  it  had  been  sleeping ;  according  to  native 
fashion  its  head  and  face  had  been  covered  over  with  bark- 
cloth  when  it  fell  asleep,  and  it  was  doubtless  quickly  suffocated. 

A  striking  incident  took  place  during  the  visit  of  Sir 
Gerald  Portal,  which  will  give  an  idea  of  the  depth  and  reality 
of  the  influence  of  the  Christian  religion  upon  the  people. 
The  chiefs  of  the  two  Christian  parties,  French  and  English, 
who  were  now  reconciled,  went  to  Sir  Gerald  Portal  and  told 
him  that  they  wished  to  sign  a  treaty,  giving  freedom  to  all 
slaves  in  their  country.  He  hesitated  to  accept  the  request, 
because  he  feared  that  the  people  had  not  given  so  important 
a  matter  the  consideration  which  it  deserved;  he  therefore 
asked  them  to  reconsider  their  request,  after  giving  them  a  few 
ideas  as  to  the  vastness  and  costliness  of  such  an  undertaking. 
It  really  meant  a  great  deal  to  the  people,  and  we  who  had 
been  in  constant  touch  with  the  homes  of  all  classes  knew  that 
in  some  places  the  women  would  keenly  feel  the  loss  of  their 
domestic  slaves ;  still,  when  the  matter  was  fully  explained  to 
them,  the  chiefs  and  peasants  answered  that  slavery  was 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  their  Christian  faith,  and  they  were 
prepared  to  suffer  loss.  Eventually  the  papers  were  signed  in 
the  presence  of  Sir  Gerald,  and  all  slaves  were  proclaimed  free. 

The  leading  chiefs  were  not  satisfied  with  merely  pro- 
claiming the  freedom  of  slaves,  but  they  assisted,  as  far 
as  they  could,  all  slaves  to  return  to  their  relatives  in  the 
adjacent  countries.  Responsible  persons  were  sent  with 
parties  of  slaves  to  see  them  safely  home,  much  to  the  joy 
of  both  slaves  and  their  relatives. 

When  Sir  Gerald  Portal  had  completed  his  task  of  drawing 
up  the  treaty,  and  of  having  it  signed  by  the  king  and 


Vin]  THE  TROOPS  MUTINY  127 


responsible  chiefs,  he  left  Major  Macdonald  as  British  Repre- 
sentative in  command  in  Uganda,  while  he  hurried  away 
from  what  was  to  him  a  place  of  sadness.  During  his  visit  he 
had  lost  his  brother,  who  died  from  fever  contracted  when 
alone  in  an  unhealthy  part  of  the  country ;  the  sick  man  was 
carried  with  all  speed  to  the  capital,  but  it  was  too  late  to 
help  him,  and  he  arrived  only  to  die. 

Soon  after  Sir  Gerald  Portal's  departure  the  Sudanese, 
who  for  months  had  been  diligently  drilling  and  practising 
rifle  fire  and  were  a  formidable  army,  became  unsettled;  they 
were,  as  has  already  been  stated  above,  an  unsatisfactory  set 
of  men  when  under  Gordon  in  Khartoum.  It  is  true  that  there 
were  arrears  of  wages  due  to  them,  but  they  knew  that  these 
were  safe,  and  would  be  paid  to  them  in  a  short  time ;  the  delay 
was  due  to  imperfect  transport  in  getting  goods  from  the 
coast ;  moreover  they  were  not  in  need  of  any  comforts.  They 
changed  their  cause  of  complaint,  however,  from  deferred 
pay,  and  demanded  a  higher  rate  of  wages,  mentioning  first 
one  reason,  and  then  another  for  their  discontent.  The  true 
cause,  namely  that  they  had  rebellious  intentions,  leaked  out 
through  some  loyal  Baganda,  who  were  in  close  touch  with 
them,  and  who  informed  us  that  there  would  probably  be  a 
mutiny  among  the  troops  in  a  few  days,  as  a  rising  was  being 
planned,  with  the  intention  of  first  killing  the  Europeans,  and 
afterwards  forming  Uganda  into  a  Sudanese  province.  These 
same  friends  advised  us  to  escape  to  some  place  of  safety  before 
the  troops  had  time  to  mature  the  scheme.  Major  Macdonald 
was  informed  of  the  intended  rising,  but  naturally  could  not 
believe  such  a  report,  which  certainly  seemed  incredible  at  the 
time.  We  afterwards  learnt  that  the  Mohammedan  Baganda 
had  planned  with  the  Sudanese  troops  to  murder  the  European 
Resident  and  as  many  missionaries  as  possible,  and  then  to 
place  Mboga,  the  brother  of  the  famous  King  Mutesa,  and 
uncle  to  King  Mwanga,  on  the  throne,  who  was  to  have  Selim 
Bey,  the  Sudanese  general,  as  his  prime  minister. 

According  to  Uganda  custom  it  is  impossible  for  a  prince 
who  is  appointed  to  the  office  of  Elder  Brother  (Kiwewa)  of 


128 


SUDANESE  REBELLION 


[CH. 


a  king,  and  has  the  oversight  of  all  the  other  princes,  to  reign, 
but  the  Mohammedans,  being  at  this  time  without  a  prince, 
wished  to  brush  aside  this  difficulty  and  were  about  to  make 
the  old  man  king.  Fortunately  for  us,  the  Sudanese  troops  had 
been  divided  into  two  sections  for  military  reasons ;  and  half 
of  them  were  twenty  miles  away  from  the  capital  at  Entebe, 
a  fort  on  the  lake,  where  the  new  European  headquarters 
were  being  established.  This  fact  made  it  more  difficult  for 
the  two  parties  to  act  rapidly.  To  add  to  this  difficulty,  the 
Baganda  Mohammedans  were  some  fifteen  miles  away,  and 
could  not  readily  communicate  with  their  leaders,  or  make 
preparations  for  war,  without  creating  suspicion. 

The  Resident,  though  slow  to  accept  the  report  of  disloyalty 
among  his  troops,  acted  with  caution,  watching  closely  every 
movement,  and  making  secret  investigations  into  matters 
which  at  other  times  would  have  escaped  notice.  Two  or  three 
days  later  he  called  at  the  mission,  to  tell  us  that  he  had  dis- 
covered that  there  was  truth  in  the  rumour  of  a  rebellion  and 
wished  us  to  know  this,  so  that  we  might  either  escape  to  some 
place  of  safety,  or  stand  by  him  and  try  to  quell  the  intended 
rising;  naturally  every  Englishman  remained.  It  was  on  a 
Saturday  morning  when  the  missionaries  were  warned,  and 
at  noon  the  members  of  the  two  missions,  French  and 
English,  met  at  Fort  Kampala,  where  the  Resident  ordered 
the  troops  "  to  fall  in  "  and  explained  to  them  that  he  knew  of 
their  intended  rising.  To  a  man  the  troops  swore  on  the  Koran 
that  they  were  faithful,  and  denounced  the  report  as  utterly 
false.  There  was  no  other  course  open  to  us  but  to  accept  their 
word,  so  the  missionaries  returned  home  for  the  night.  Very 
early  on  the  following  morning  we  were  again  summoned  by  the 
Resident  to  the  Fort ;  he  sent  word  that  he  must  disarm  the 
troops  at  once,  if  the  place  were  to  be  saved,  so  no  time  must 
be  lost.  We  went  in  haste  to  the  Fort,  though  it  was  only 
seven  o'clock,  and  were  told  by  the  Resident  that  an  attempt 
had  been  made  during  the  night  to  murder  him,  and  that  he 
had  been  on  guard  until  daylight,  when  he  sent  his  private 
servant  to  summon  us. 


VIII] 


THE  TROOPS  MUTINY 


129 


The  French  fathers  discredited  the  word  of  the  troops  the 
day  before,  and,  under  cover  of  night,  took  their  departure 
to  Budu  on  their  way  to  Bukoba,  their  station  in  German 
East  Africa,  leaving  a  few  servants  with  instructions  to  guard 
their  houses  and  property  as  long  as  possible,  and  then  to  flee 
if  necessary.  There  was  therefore  only  a  small  party  of  English 
left  to  stand  by  the  Resident.  We  numbered  eight  Englishmen 
and  a  few  Swahili  porters,  most  of  whom  were  lame  from 
jiggers  in  their  feet,  and  could  only  stand  with  pain,  using 
their  guns  as  crutches  to  hobble  to  their  posts.  Still,  as  we 
were  told  by  the  Times'  correspondent,  Mr  Gedge,  who  was 
travelling  and  who  came  in  time  to  be  with  us  for  this 
event,  it  was  satisfactory  to  know  that  these  men  could  not 
run  away.  The  Resident  briefly  related  to  us  on  arriving 
at  the  Fort  the  events  of  the  night,  and  said  it  was  a 
difficult  position  and  most  grave,  because  the  troops  were  in 
possession  of  the  best  rifles  and  had  secured  large  quantities 
of  ammunition  from  the  store;  the  rifles  left  in  the  store 
were  miserable  weapons,  only  fit  for  porters  to  make  a  show 
with  when  journeying  through  districts  where  the  natives 
were  armed  with  spears  only.  The  plan  of  operations  sug- 
gested by  the  Resident  was  for  the  Europeans  to  mount 
guard  at  set  distances  along  the  Fort  stockade;  then  the 
troops  were  to  be  drawn  up  under  the  Fort,  and  he  (the 
Resident)  was  to  go  to  them  and,  after  telling  them  his 
decision,  to  disarm  them  by  quickly  commanding  them  to 
lay  down  their  arms;  in  the  event  of  their  disobeying  the 
order,  we  were  to  fire  upon  them,  regardless  of  his  safety, 
and  to  fight  for  our  own  lives. 

After  these  instructions  had  been  given,  we  shook  hands  and 
took  our  positions  around  the  Fort,  feeling  that  it  was  a  hope- 
less cause,  and  that  there  was  nothing  for  us  but  death ;  still  we 
determined  to  make  the  best  of  it  and  to  sell  our  lives  as  dearly 
as  possible.  In  the  gateway  was  placed  an  old  maxim  gun 
which  had  belonged  to  Stanley;  it  was  known  to  jam  after 
firing  four  or  five  rounds;  nevertheless,  it  made  a  show  and 
might  possibly  be  of  use,  and  all  we  did  that  morning  was 


R.U. 


9 


130  DISARMING  THE  TROOPS  [ch. 

merely  show,  for  our  trust  was  not  in  our  own  strength  or 
weapons.  When  we  were  ready,  the  troops  were  called  and 
fell  into  line  on  the  slope  of  the  Fort,  as  though  there  were 
no  mutiny  planned,  and  the  Resident  marched  out  smoking 
a  cigarette,  and  took  his  stand  some  thirty  yards  from  the 
Fort  gate.  We  could  catch  an  occasional  word  he  said,  as  we 
stood  with  every  nerve  strung  to  the  highest  pitch  of  expecta- 
tion, wondering  what  would  happen.  The  few  moments  taken 
by  the  Resident  to  explain  to  the  troops  the  situation  and 
his  determination,  seemed  hours  to  us;  then  the  sharp  clear 
command  rang  out  to  ground  arms,  and,  to  our  intense 
relief,  down  went  the  rifles  of  all,  except  that  of  one  man  whom 
the  Resident  at  once  covered  with  a  revolver  from  his  side 
pocket,  till  the  man  dropped  his  rifle.  The  next  order  to 
turn  and  march  came  quickly,  and  the  troops  moved 
a  few  yards,  leaving  their  rifles  on  the  ground,  where  the 
orderly  with  a  porter  promptly  stacked  them  and  mounted 
guard,  while  the  Resident  continued  his  task  and  ordered 
the  troops  to  remove  their  bandoliers.  It  was  found,  when 
these  were  examined,  that  each  man  had  a  large  supply  of 
cartridges  ready  for  use.  The  troops  were  thereupon  dismissed 
to  their  quarters,  and  we  were  safe  for  the  moment. 

By  his  calm  prompt  action  the  Resident  had  taken  the 
men  off  their  guard,  and  they  had  in  a  mechanical  manner 
obeyed  his  order  and  left  their  rifles  behind,  before  they 
realised  what  they  had  done;  it  seemed  to  them  so  much 
like  a  part  of  their  drill  routine.  The  relief  to  us  who  were 
standing  on  guard  was  for  a  few  moments  too  great  for  words, 
then  we  showered  congratulations  and  praise  upon  Major 
Macdonald,  who  had  thus  saved  both  us  and  the  Baganda. 

There  had  been  no  time  to  communicate  with  the  loyal 
natives  in  the  early  morning  when  we  were  called  to  the  Fort, 
and  we  had  given  them  no  intimation  that  we  were  leaving  the 
mission.  It  was  therefore  a  surprise  to  us  to  see  an  army  of 
these  men  rising  from  the  grass  and  coming  from  all  manner 
of  places  when  the  Sudanese  were  disarmed.  They  had  been 
secreted  in  all  kinds  of  places  as  near  as  they  could  come, 


VIII] 


THE  NATIVES  FIGHT 


ready  to  assist  us  and  fight  for  us,  had  the  troops  disobeyed 
the  order  to  disarm  when  given  by  Major  Macdonald.  The 
Prime  Minister  now  came  forward  with  an  army  of  several 
hundreds  of  loyal  men  fully  armed  and  ready  for  action.  He 
told  the  Resident  that  Selim  Bey  was  reported  to  have  left 
Entebe  with  his  troops  and  was  marching  on  Kampala,  and 
that  the  Mohammedan  Baganda  were  coming  in  from  their 
district  in  the  north-west  and  would  arrive  in  about  two  or 
three  hours.  We  were  therefore  only  just  in  time  to  save 
ourselves  and  the  country,  and  steps  had  to  be  taken  promptly 
to  meet  the  next  emergency. 

Scouts  were  sent  in  each  direction  to  watch  the  approaching 
armies.  It  was  soon  learnt  that  the  Sudanese  had  been  warned 
of  what  had  happened  by  a  runner  from  the  disarmed  troops, 
and  that  Selim  Bey  had  at  once  turned  and  hurried  back  to 
Entebe ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  Mohammedan  Baganda  were 
reported  to  be  within  four  miles  of  the  capital.  The  loyal 
Baganda  undertook  to  meet  their  own  countrymen  and  deal 
with  them;  so  they  moved  off  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Katikiro  along  the  road  on  which  these  Mohammedans  were 
reported  to  be  advancing.  Shortly  after  nine  o'clock  the  first 
shots  were  heard,  and  for  fully  an  hour  the  sound  of  rapid  firing 
continued;  then  wounded  men  were  carried  into  the  Fort  to 
be  treated  by  the  Europeans,  and  we  were  kept  busy  assisting 
them  and  doing  all  that  we  could  to  dress  wounds  and  to 
relieve  the  dying.  By  twelve  o'clock  the  Mohammedan  party 
was  defeated  and  in  full  retreat,  being  pursued  by  the  loyal 
Baganda,  who  followed  them  some  miles  out  of  the  capital 
into  the  country,  and  left  them  a  disorganised  body  of  men, 
fleeing  away  to  the  west  singly  or  in  parties  of  two  or  three. 

The  missionaries  were  unable  to  return  to  the  mission 
station  that  day;  their  presence  was  needed  for  several  days  to 
share  in  garrison  duties  at  the  Fort.  Even  if  they  had  not  been 
wanted  for  these  duties,  it  would  have  been  unwise  to  have 
gone  back  until  the  capital  was  rather  more  safe  from  spies 
and  stray  members  of  the  hostile  parties.  The  following  day 
the  Resident  set  off  to  Entebe  with  a  Muganda  chief, 

9—2 


132 


LOYAL  BAGANDA 


[CH. 


Nikodemu  Sebwato,  and  a  following  of  Baganda  to  disarm  the 
troops ;  there  he  found  Selim  Bey  professing  to  be  loyal  and 
pretending  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  rising.  The  troops 
were  ordered  to  fall  in  and  were  disarmed,  and  Selim  Bey  was 
removed  for  safety  to  an  island  of  the  lake,  until  arrangements 
could  be  made  to  conduct  him  to  the  coast.  Only  a  few 
friendly  natives  were  taken  by  the  Resident  to  Entebe,  but 
it  proved  that  they  were  quite  sufficient  for  the  purpose, 
because  the  troops  to  a  man  laid  down  their  arms  and 
remained  submissive.  After  a  few  days  had  elapsed,  the 
missionaries  were  able  to  return  to  their  homes  and  to  their 
work,  while  the  natives  returned  to  their  labour  of  building 
houses  and  of  renovating  their  gardens  and  plantain  groves. 
The  mission  suffered  no  harm  during  the  absence  of  the 
missionaries,  because  the  Prime  Minister  had  sent  a  guard 
which  kept  everything  in  perfect  order  during  their  stay  at 
the  Fort. 

The  Mohammedan  Baganda,  by  their  folly  in  rising  against 
the  Government,  again  lost  their  homes  and  the  district  to 
which  they  had  been  allotted,  and  were  scattered  over  the 
country.  Mboga,  their  old  chief  and  leader,  the  brother  of 
Mutesa,  was  sent  to  the  coast,  to  be  out  of  the  way  in  the 
event  of  any  further  rising,  and  also  that  the  people  might 
forget  him  as  a  possible  candidate  for  the  throne.  Later  on 
Selim  Bey  was  sent  to  the  coast;  however  he  never  reached 
it,  but  died  on  the  way  down  from  an  old  internal  trouble. 
For  the  next  four  or  five  years  the  country  remained  quiet, 
and  rapid  strides  were  made  in  all  matters  of  government, 
in  social  life,  in  building,  and  in  road  making. 

When  the  Arab  and  Swahili  traders  were  allowed  to  settle 
in  Uganda,  they  introduced  the  building  of  square  houses, 
which  were  in  some  respects  an  improvement  upon  the  old 
beehive  huts  of  the  Baganda,  especially  as  regards  sanitary 
conditions,  and  because  they  had  windows  and  could  be 
ventilated.  The  king  and  the  chiefs  soon  adopted  the  new 
style  of  house,  and  other  needful  sanitary  reforms  were  made, 
such  as  the  adoption  of  cesspools,  whereas  previously  people 


VinJ  THE  BENEFITS  OF  PEACE 


133 


had  retired  into  the  gardens  for  the  relief  of  nature.  Useful 
arts  were  also  learnt,  such  as  making  soap  from  the  fat  of 
animals  with  the  ashes  from  burnt  plantain  peelings,  and 
making  mats  from  the  fronds  of  wild  palm  trees. 

A  further  distribution  of  chieftainships  took  place  at  this 
time,  and  the  French  party  were  given  more  land,  and  en- 
couraged to  be  more  sociable.  The  Budu  district  in  which  the 
Roman  Catholics  had  settled,  and  which  they  had  kept 
closed  against  all  so-called  English,  became  an  open  district, 
and  a  state  of  friendship  began  between  the  parties. 


CHAPTER  IX 


SOME  BAGANDA  BELIEFS  AND  CUSTOMS— GODS  OF  THE 
LUBARE  WORSHIP— GHOSTS  AND  REINCARNATION- 
HUMAN  SACRIFICES 

IN  the  year  1880  a  traveller  marching  the  eight  hundred 
miles  from  the  east  coast  of  Africa  into  the  interior  to 
Uganda,  would  have  found  little  to  suggest  that  the  tribes 
through  which  he  passed  had  any  religion ;  there  was  little  or 
nothing  to  betoken  that  the  people  had  any  thoughts  of 
another  world  or  an  after  life.  We  now  know  that  all  these  tribes 
have  some  form  of  worship,  and  are  armed  with  either  fetishes 
or  amulets  on  their  persons,  which  are  supposed  to  protect 
them  from  ghostly  enemies  and  from  all  forms  of  magic,  and 
also  to  preserve  them  from  danger  from  wild  animals  or  from 
hostile  tribes.  By  the  ordinary  traveller  who  has  had  no 
previous  training,  and  who  has  taken  little  interest  in 
primitive  religions,  these  objects  worn  by  natives  might  be 
easily  overlooked,  or  regarded  as  rude  ornaments;  indeed 
many  objects  which  are  held  in  great  veneration  by  natives, 
and  are  of  intense  ethnological  value,  might  escape  notice. 
In  Uganda,  however,  it  was  different,  for  before  the  civil 
wars  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  there  were  abundant 
traces  of  religion;  temples  and  shrines  abounded,  because 
the  Baganda  have  for  generations  been  a  devout  people. 
Religious  ceremonies  began  with  the  birth  of  a  person 
and  continued  throughout  life  until  his  death,  when  there 
was  an  elaborate  funeral  ceremony,  after  which  the  ghost 
of  the  departed  was  worshipped.  Each  day  in  a  house 
began  with  certain  ceremonies  for  ridding  the  family  or 
the  individual  from  magic  and  unwholesome  spells,  and 
it  closed  with  some  form  of  worship  to  protect  the  sleeper 
during  the  night.  Almost  every  person  had  some  kind  of 
fetish,  on  which  he  laid  his  head,  and  some  people  asked 
it  to  protect  them  during  the  night.  Many  of  the  hills 


CH.  ix]         NATIVE  GODS  AND  SHRINES  135 


had  a  temple  or  shrine  upon  their  summit,  and,  though  the 
people  had  not  learned  the  art  of  constructing  permanent 
buildings,  these  gigantic  conical  huts,  built  at  considerable 
cost  and  labour,  were  kept  in  beautiful  condition,  were 
dedicated  to  the  gods,  and  were  guarded  and  kept  by  priests 
and  mediums,  who  ministered  in  them,  and  to  whom  the 
people  resorted  when  they  wished  to  consult  the  god  who 
was  supposed  to  abide  there. 

A  simple  way  of  classifying  the  gods  which  most  people 
will  readily  understand,  is  to  say,  that  one  class  were  hero  gods 
and  the  other  nature  gods,  though  the  natives  themselves 
classified  the  gods  as  national  and  private  or  clan  gods. 
National  gods  had  temples  to  which  members  of  any  clan 
might  go  to  seek  assistance,  and  the  emblems  of  these  gods 
were  taken  periodically  to  visit  the  king  and  to  bestow  their 
blessing  upon  him ;  they  were  accompanied  at  such  times  by 
mediums  and  priests,  who  went  dressed  in  special  garments 
intended  to  make  a  display,  so  as  to  obtain  popular  honour 
and  esteem.  The  temples  of  these  national  gods  were  built 
and  kept  in  repair  by  the  state,  and  there  were  special 
ceremonies  and  functions  when  they  were  rebuilt.  The  other 
class  of  gods  belonged  to  individual  clans,  and  according  to 
the  wealth  of  the  clan  and  its  numerical  greatness  so  the  temple 
and  the  god  varied  in  honour  and  esteem.  It  will  be  necessary 
to  say  more  about  the  origin  of  these  two  classes  later;  here 
we  need  only  say  that  the  national  gods  were  in  all  probability 
the  more  recent  addition  to  the  religion  of  the  country,  the 
clan  gods  being  the  original  deities.  Emblems  of  clan  gods, 
when  they  existed,  were  not  taken  before  the  king,  and  were 
only  consulted  by  members  of  the  clan. 

It  was  customary  for  the  king  to  send  presents  of  slaves, 
male  and  female,  to  these  national  gods  in  return  for  favours 
received,  and  offerings  of  cattle  in  order  to  ward  off  evil.  The 
king  was  regarded  as  superior  to  the  priests  by  most  of  his 
subjects;  indeed  he  was  commonly  believed  to  be  equal  in 
power  to  the  gods,  though  during  his  lifetime  he  wras  not 
expected  to  grant  any  spiritual  blessings,  nor  was  he  called 


136 


NATIONAL  GODS 


[CH. 


upon  to  produce  rain,  as  was  customary  among  most  of  the 
nations  surrounding  Uganda.  The  king  at  times  sent  men  to 
rob  and  plunder  the  estates  of  the  temples,  if  he  was  annoyed 
by  any  action  of  the  priests,  or  was  jealous  of  their  wealth; 
this  was  more  than  ordinary  persons  dared  do,  for  they  feared 
too  much  the  vengeance  of  the  god.  Other  nations  asked 
their  chiefs  to  bring  rain  or  fine  weather,  as  circumstances 
demanded.  In  Uganda  it  was  the  duty  of  a  nature  god  to 
regulate  the  weather;  and  famine  from  lack  of  rain  was 
thought  to  be  caused  by  the  indiscretion  of  some  person, 
which  needed  to  be  atoned  for  by  offerings. 

To  the  national  gods  all  men  had  access;  it  was  only  a 
question  of  paying  a  higher  rate  of  fees  to  the  priests  and  of 
making  a  suitable  offering  to  the  god,  and  they  could  obtain 
the  oracle  through  the  medium.  Private  gods  were  attached  to 
each  clan  and  were  only  available  to  members  of  the  clan.  The 
king  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  these  gods  except 
possibly  with  the  god  of  his  mother's  clan;  indeed  members 
of  a  clan  frequently  sought  the  aid  of  their  clan  god,  to  thwart 
the  designs  of  the  king,  or  to  protect  themselves  against 
attacks  of  the  king's  anger,  or  to  influence  the  king  in  some 
particular  way  to  their  advantage;  or  again  they  might  seek 
the  god's  assistance  against  some  powerful  chief. 

Both  the  popular  national  gods  and  the  clan  gods  were  hero 
gods,  that  is  to  say,  at  some  remote  period  the  deities  had  been 
human  beings,  who  for  some  reason  had  been  venerated  and 
afterwards  deified.  According  to  tradition,  however,  these 
gods  were  direct  descendants  of  the  Creator;  they  were  sons  of 
God  who,  after  appearing  on  earth  in  human  form  for  some 
time,  returned  to  God.  Man  was  also  believed  to  be  the 
direct  descendant  of  God;  the  first  parents  came  from  God 
and  would  have  remained  immortal,  had  not  woman  trans- 
gressed by  breaking  the  command  of  her  father  the  Creator, 
and  so  brought  death  into  the  world.  The  supreme  God  named 
Creator,  Katonda,  never  came  to  earth,  nor  had  he  any 
active  part  in  ruling  the  earth,  but  he  left  the  ordering  of 
the  cosmos  to  the  gods,  his  sons,  for  detailed  management. 


IX] 


NATIONAL  GODS 


137 


The  Creator  received  but  little  worship,  and  his  temple  was  a 
small  hut,  much  inferior  to  those  of  the  god  of  plenty  and 
the  god  of  war.  To  the  temple  of  the  Creator  the  king  sent 
annually  a  gift  of  an  ox  and  a  milch  cow,  and  he  worshipped 
him  on  behalf  of  his  people  and  country.  A  common  saying 
of  the  people  was  that  the  Creator  had  done  his  work,  and 
there  was  no  need  to  disturb  him,  therefore  they  made  no 
offerings  to  him ;  the  work  of  carrying  on  the  world's  routine 
had  been  deputed  to  other  gods,  whose  duty  it  was  to  see 
that  all  went  on  smoothly. 

The  heaven,  that  is  the  sky,  was  called  Gulu,  a  god  said 
to  be  the  son  of  the  Creator.  Of  his  sons  one  was  named 
Kintu,  the  first  man  who  came  to  earth,  while  another  son, 
Musisi,  came  to  earth  as  a  god,  and  was  the  father  of  the 
principal  national  gods.  Through  Gulu  we  reach  the  anthropo- 
morphic deity,  a  theory  which  the  native  cherishes,  for  he 
repudiates  stoutly  the  suggestion  that  his  gods  were  ever 
ordinary  men,  though  he  admits  that  they  took  human  form 
and  submitted  to  the  ordinary  means  of  increase  by  marriage 
and  birth ;  human  beings  supplied  the  gods  with  wives  who 
became  the  mothers  of  the  gods.  The  relics  of  the  god  of 
war,  which  had  been  buried  during  the  Mohammedan  reign, 
have  recently  been  discovered;  they  are  certainly  human 
remains,  which  have  for  many  generations  been  worshipped  as 
divine  and  were  believed  to  be  something  superhuman.  The 
war  god,  Kibuka,  was  said  to  be  a  son  of  Musisi  and  brother 
of  Mukasa,  the  god  of  plenty,  who  ruled  the  great  Lake 
Victoria;  he  (Kibuka)  was  credited  with  the  power  of  flying 
and  of  hurling  weapons  upon  his  foes  from  the  clouds.  It 
was  when  fighting  that  he  was  discovered  in  his  dark  cloud, 
and  mortally  wounded  by  an  arrow  shot  by  one  of  the  foe, 
whereupon  he  fled  away  and  died.  He  was  buried  in  a 
particular  district  on  a  hill  where  his  temple  afterwards 
stood,  and  where  his  relics  were  recently  found. 

These  national  gods,  in  almost  every  case,  at  all  events  in 
the  case  of  those  whose  ceremonies  it  has  been  possible 
to  trace,  had  annual  festivals,  when  crowds  of  people  were 


138 


NATIONAL  GODS 


[CH. 


drawn  from  every  part  of  the  country,  who  remained  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  temple  some  nine  days.  To  these  festivals  every 
person,  even  the  smallest  child  in  arms,  took  an  offering 
which  was  presented  to  the  priest,  who  placed  it  before 
the  god  and  afterwards  added  it  to  the  temple  property. 
The  chief  feature  of  the  ceremony  was  dancing  and  feasting, 
which  was  continued  by  day  and  by  night  incessantly.  All 
the  food,  meat  and  wine  was  provided  by  the  people  them- 
selves, who  gave  according  to  their  means.  Strict  rules  of 
chastity  and  sobriety  were  observed,  drunkenness  was  not 
allowed,  while  any  yielding  to  lust  and  passion  would  have 
been  an  offence  against  the  god  and  punishable  by  death. 
At  the  close  of  the  festival  the  priest  dismissed  the  people 
with  the  blessing  of  the  god,  promising  them  prosperity 
and  every  other  material  blessing. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  cult  of  this  particular 
class  of  god  came  from  the  region  of  the  Lake  Victoria  into 
Uganda.  Mukasa  was  the  god  of  the  lake  and  had  his  chief 
temple  on  an  island  bearing  his  name.  Of  all  the  gods  the 
god  Mukasa  alone  had  more  than  one  temple.  In  every  case 
a  god  had  his  temple  situated  on  a  hill,  and  his  power  was 
limited  to  the  particular  locality,  so  that  his  worshippers 
and  suppliants  went  to  this  temple  for  any  purpose  with 
which  he  was  concerned.  Mukasa,  being  the  god  of  benefi- 
cence, had  various  temples,  in  each  of  which  was  the 
emblem  of  the  god,  a  canoe  paddle ;  this  had  been  brought 
from  the  chief  temple,  and  was  supposed  to  convey  divine 
power,  of  which  the  medium  partook  when  giving  the  oracle ; 
the  chief  temple  was  on  the  Island  Bukasa.  These  the 
principal  national  gods  of  this  class  have  their  origin  through 
Bukulu  from  Gulu,  the  son  of  Katonda.  Gulu  was  also,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  father  of  Kintu,  the  first  man;  thus  man 
was  closely  related  to  the  gods.  Both  Kintu  and  Bukulu 
are  said  to  have  come  to  the  earth  together.  There  is 
another  interesting  tradition,  namely,  that  the  kings  came  to 
Uganda  by  lake,  and  for  years  lived  on  the  shore  of  the 
great  lake  in  the  vicinity  of  Jungo  near  their  first  landing 


IX] 


DEIFIED  KINGS 


139 


place.  These  stories  agree  with  the  traditions  of  other  pastoral 
tribes,  who  state  that  their  forefathers  came  from  the  north- 
east, and  that  they  have  a  common  ancestry.  Such  an  account, 
if  authentic,  would  leave  room  for  aborigines  with  religious 
ideas  of  their  own  concerning  deified  ancestors  or  clan  ghosts, 
and  would  point  to  a  time  when  the  clans  were  independent 
tribes,  each  with  its  own  form  of  worship  and  its  clan  chief. 
The  national  gods  had  no  fetishes,  but  had  their  special 
emblems,  or  rather  relics  as  we  now  believe  them  to  be, 
judging  from  the  case  of  Kibuka,  the  war  god;  these  were 
preserved  in  their  temples  and  never  taken  away  from  the 
sacred  precincts.  Clan  gods,  on  the  other  hand,  supplied 
fetishes  to  members  of  the  clan.  Fetishes  have  been  made 
a  subject  of  much  enquiry  and  of  careful  research.  I  now 
believe  the  solution  of  the  problem  to  be  bound  up  with  the 
explanation  that  fetishes  belong  to  clan  gods  and  therefore 
vary  considerably  in  names,  in  shapes,  and  in  their  specific 
duties.  The  medicine-man  of  the  particular  clan  is  the  maker 
and  vendor  of  the  fetish  belonging  to  his  own  clan  god,  and  is 
accordingly  a  rival  of  all  other  manufacturers  and  vendors, 
his  aim  being  to  supply  an  article  of  superior  power  to  that 
of  any  other  clan. 

The  kings  from  very  early  times  have  been  deified  at 
death,  and  their  jawbones  with  a  portion  of  the  umbilical 
cord  have  been  preserved  in  temples;  these  relics  corre- 
spond with  those  discovered  and  attributed  to  the  war  god 
Kibuka.  Some  twelve  years  ago  a  report  was  current  in 
Uganda,  which  reached  the  principal  chiefs  in  the  capital, 
who  were  Christians,  that  a  bundle  in  the  temple  of  King 
Kintu  contained  some  writings  or  papyrus  sheets;  the  chiefs 
became  somewhat  excited,  because  they  hoped  it  would  prove 
that  writing  had  been  known  at  an  early  date.  The  bundle  was 
opened  and  examined,  and  though  they  found  no  writing,  they 
discovered  some  relics  of  the  first  king,  which  were  similar 
to  those  of  the  god  Kibuka.  This  investigation  afforded 
further  interesting  testimony  to  the  belief  that  the  gods  were 
men,  because  the  tradition  concerning  King  Kintu  is  that, 


140 


LUBARE  WORSHIP 


[CH. 


like  the  chief  gods,  he  disappeared  from  the  earth  and 
returned  to  the  Creator. 

Investigation  of  the  Lubare  worship  leads  to  the  supposi- 
tion that  these  gods  belonged  to  the  invaders  who  intro- 
duced the  improved  form  of  government,  the  higher  grades 
of  art,  and  the  marks  of  a  higher  code  of  civilisation  and 
politics;  it  will,  however,  be  found  that  there  has  been  an 
amalgamation  of  a  primitive  form  of  worship  with  this  higher 
order.  In  the  clan  gods  we  find  what  is  probably  the  older 
order  and  more  primitive  form  of  worship  in  Uganda.  The  gods 
of  a  clan  were  in  most  instances  hero  gods,  and  there  is  seldom 
any  attempt  made  to  hide  this  fact;  they  were  originally 
members  of  the  clan,  and  in  some  few  cases  relics  exist  which  are 
carefully  guarded  by  the  clan  members.  These  relics  are  the 
links  between  the  living  and  the  dead,  in  other  words  they 
are  the  tangible  objects  to  which  the  ghost  is  said  to  cling, 
and  form  the  sacred  emblems  for  worship.  In  each  clan 
there  was  the  worship  of  a  particular  god,  who  might  or 
might  not  possess  relics.  There  were  clans  possessing  no 
relics  or  objects  of  veneration,  though  there  was  a  priest  and 
a  medium ;  in  other  clans  the  priest  was  also  the  medium  and 
he  gave  the  oracle  from  the  god. 

In  the  chief  temple  of  the  god  Mukasa  the  object  of 
veneration  is  said  to  have  been  a  meteoric  stone,  which  was 
turned  about  first  in  one  direction,  and  then  in  another, 
according  to  the  phase  of  the  moon. 

In  almost  every  case  the  person  nominated  to  hold  the 
office  of  Father  of  the  clan  became  the  priest,  and  in  some  few 
instances  he  was  also  the  medium;  in  other  cases  there  was  a 
medium  in  addition  to  the  priest;  in  the  latter  cases  the 
priest  took  offerings  and  requests  before  the  god,  the  medium 
then  became  possessed  and  gave  the  oracle.  Requests  made 
to  clan  gods  were  of  a  limited  range  and  were  applicable 
to  clan  members  only;  the  offerings  were  chiefly  goats  and 
fowls,  though  sometimes  a  chief  would  send  a  cow,  and  on 
rare  occasions  a  slave ;  large  supplies  of  beer  were  also  taken 
by  each  suppliant.  Animals  devoted  to  a  god  were  usually 


IX] 


CULT  OF  GHOSTS 


141 


females;  they  were  kept  alive  in  the  shrine  or  temple,  and 
any  offspring  they  might  have  increased  the  wealth  of  the 
god.  If  a  slave  was  offered,  as  sometimes  happened  when  a 
wealthy  person  had  escaped  death  or  recovered  from  a  serious 
illness,  a  male  would  be  employed  in  supplying  firewood 
for  the  temple  fire,  and  for  general  work  about  the  temple 
and  buildings,  whereas  a  female  would  be  set  to  cultivate 
the  temple  estate  and  to  take  charge  of  the  sacred  fire  and 
vessels  in  the  temple. 

It  was  usual  for  a  man  after  marriage  to  ask  the  blessing 
of  the  clan  god  upon  his  union,  that  there  might  be  children, 
and  also  to  seek  his  aid  for  cultivation  of  the  land,  increase 
of  cattle,  and  general  prosperity.  Again,  in  cases  of  sickness, 
the  clan  god  was  consulted  before  any  national  god,  and  he 
either  gave  advice  by  oracle  as  to  the  remedies  to  be  used,  or 
he  sent  the  enquirer  to  some  national  god,  where  the  patient 
could  receive  the  necessary  aid.  Beyond  these  special  times 
when  the  assistance  of  the  god  was  sought,  no  stated  periods 
for  worship  were  fixed,  except  the  annual  gathering  when 
members  of  the  clan  came  together  to  seek  blessings  for  the 
year  and  which  lasted  about  nine  consecutive  days.  As  a  rule, 
however,  annual  gatherings  were  held  only  at  the  temples  of 
the  more  important  gods ;  most  of  the  clan  gods  were  restricted 
to  small  gatherings  and  the  smaller  rejoicings  of  the  clan. 

The  cult  of  ghosts  formed  an  important  part  in  the 
life  of  the  people  because  of  their  conviction  that  ghosts 
were  able  to  help  or  to  harm  the  living.  The  ghost  world 
was  no  far-off  land  separated  from  this  world,  but  it  was 
part  and  parcel  of  it;  indeed  each  garden  was  the  play- 
ground of  these  unseen  visitants,  who  in  the  noontide  sun- 
shine might  be  heard  rustling  among  the  leaves  of  the  trees 
Accordingly  it  behoved  the  living  to  be  careful  how  they  acted, 
and  especially  how  they  treated  the  body  which  the  ghost  had 
inhabited,  and  also  the  grave  in  which  the  body  was  laid. 
This  belief  in  ghosts  had  no  part  in  the  deification  of  kings, 
who  had  a  special  form  of  worship  which  will  be  mentioned 
later,  but  the  belief  in  ghosts  and  the  worship  of  them  affected 


142 


BELIEF  IN  GHOSTS 


[CH. 


the  rank  and  file  of  the  nation,  and  was  in  all  probability  a 
part  of  the  aborigines'  belief  and  of  an  earlier  date  than  the 
introduction  of  the  national  gods,  which  appears  to  date  from 
the  time  when  the  royal  clans  invaded  the  country  and 
amalgamated  the  other  clans.  When  it  became  known  that 
the  spirit  had  left  the  body,  that  is  that  death  had  taken  place, 
wailing  began,  and  part  of  this  consisted  in  reciting  the  good 
deeds  of  the  deceased,  and  in  the  widows  recounting  the  gifts 
which  they  had  received.  The  ghost  was  supposed  to  be  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  body,  to  hear  and  understand  what  was 
said,  and  to  be  gratified  by  the  eulogies.  The  ghost  still  retained 
the  limited  powers  and  possibilities  of  the  living  person,  and 
could  know  only  what  was  taking  place  in  the  locality  in 
which  it  happened  to  be ;  hence  relays  of  mourners  kept  up  a 
constant  cry  in  the  house  in  which  the  body  lay  until  burial. 
The  mourners  who  were  relieved  from  the  task  of  lamentation 
left  the  house,  and  were  allowed  to  enter  into  the  most  trivial 
and  apparently  thoughtless  conversation  or  occupation  in 
another  building,  because  the  ghost  did  not  see  or  know 
what  they  were  doing,  and  could  not  be  affected  by  their 
levity  or  want  of  reverence.  The  elaborate  proceedings  in 
the  ritual  of  funeral  rites  had  in  view  the  welfare  of  the 
ghost;  so  also  had  trie-relatives  in  making  choice  of  a  site  for 
the  grave,  which  had  to  be  in  the  clan  burial  ground.  The 
offerings  also  which  were  laid  with  the  body  in  the  grave  were 
for  the  use  and  comfort  of  the  ghost.  The  honour  of  having 
a  son  present  at  the  funeral  was  great,  but  it  was  surpassed 
by  the  further  presence  of  a  grandchild.  In  the  person  • 
of  these  descendants  the  ghost  was  assured  of  a  continued 
remembrance  and  of  its  future  welfare,  which  depended  upon 
the  living.   For  the  future  the  ghost  looked  to  the  grave 
with  a  shrine  near  it  as  its  abode;  the  shrine  built  at  the 
head  of  the  grave  added  considerably  to  its  comfort,  while 
in  the  larger  hut,  built  by  the  more  wealthy  for  the  shrine, 
with  a  slave  to  keep  a  fire  burning,  and  a  pot  of  beer  always 
ready  for  its  use,  the  ghost  existed  in  regal  state,  and  the 
relatives  might  rest  assured  of  its  ghostly  favour.  To  retain  the 


ix]     THE  GRAVE  THE  HOME  OF  THE  GHOST  143 


good  offices  of  the  ghost,  offerings  of  clothing,  that  is  of 
bark-cloth,  and  also  of  cattle,  fowls,  slaves  and  beer  were  made. 
The  chief  needs  of  the  ghost  were  thought  to  be  caused  by  the 
two  extremes  of  heat  and  cold ;  hence  clothing  and  drink  were 
provided,  while  cattle,  slaves,  and  fowls  were  added  thereto 
and  formed  the  wealth  of  the  ghost.  A  widow  was  installed  to 
take  care  of  the  grave,  her  special  duty  being  to  keep  it  free 
from  weeds  and  to  preserve  the  mound  intact.  When  a  grave 
wasdeserted  and  neglected,  so  that  the  mound  over  it  crumbled 
away,  or,  if  it  had  been  thatched  instead  of  having  a  mound, 
when  the  thatch  had  rotted,  exposing  the  grave  and  allowing 
weeds  to  grow  and  rain  to  fall  upon  it,  the  ghost  felt  the 
discomfort;  it  also  felt  the  lack  of  offerings  on  the  part  of 
relatives  and  became  annoyed  and  visited  them  in  anger, 
causing  sickness  or  some  other  trouble.  It  continued  these 
aggressive  methods  until  the  grave  was  restored  to  order 
and  offerings  were  made.  It  was  in  the  power  of  the  medicine- 
man to  discover  which  ghost  was  causing  trouble  in  a  clan, 
and  to  give  the  right  advice  for  removing  the  cause.  When  a 
ghost  was  reincarnated,  the  necessity  of  making  offerings  or 
of  guarding  the  grave  ceased ;  the  latter  was  allowed  to  crumble 
away,  and  the  site  was  dug  over  and  planted  with  ordinary 
plantain  trees.  No  two  bodies  might  be  laid  in  the  same 
grave,  even  a  mother  and  her  babe  had  separate  graves, 
though  they  might  be  side  by  side.  It  was  this  same 
belief  that  the  ghostly  abode  was  the  grave  which  restricted 
the  number  of  bodies  interred  in  a  grave,  and  limited  it  to 
one,  lest  the  ghosts  should  quarrel  for  the  right  of  the  home. 
In  like  manner  one  or  more  widows  were  allotted  to  care  for  a 
grave  of  the  husband,  to  live  near  it,  and  keep  it  from  falling 
into  decay,  lest  the  ghost  should  have  cause  for  annoyance. 

Children  were  liable  to  suffer  from  female  ghosts,  chiefly 
those  of  the  father's  sisters,  which  resented  neglect  or  slight 
of  some  kind  by  their  brother,  and  therefore  would  afflict  one 
or  other  of  his  children  with  some  illness  peculiar  to  children. 
A  brother  was  responsible  for  the  burial  and  mourning, 
and  also  for  providing  the  heir  to  the  office  and  property  of 


144 


NATURE  GODS 


[CH. 


a  deceased  sister.  Even  when  a  woman  was  married,  her 
brother  was  the  chief  mourner,  and  had  to  watch  over  the 
burial  and  mourning  ceremonies,  to  see  that  they  were 
properly  conducted;  he  also  supplied  another  sister  to 
become  the  wife  of  the  bereaved  husband,  and  this  new 
wife  became  heir  to  any  property  of  the  deceased  wife  and 
had  charge  of  her  sister's  grave. 

The  cult  of  nature  gods  seems  to  have  been  of  later  intro- 
duction and  not  to  have  been  developed,  or  more  probably 
to  have  failed  from  lack  of  knowledge.  In  the  case  of  hero 
gods  and  of  ghosts  the  worshippers  had  an  idea  of  what  the 
god  or  the  ghost  would  like;  this  idea  was  based  upon  what 
people  liked  or  disliked  in  their  present  life,  and  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  world.  In  the  case  of 
nature  gods  the  people  appear  to  have  had  no  idea  as  to  their 
nature,  and  therefore  not  to  have  known  what  would  be  their 
likes  or  dislikes.  These  nature  gods  belonged  to  the  same  class 
as  the  god  of  heaven,  Gulu,  and  Katonda  the  Creator,  and 
required  other  means  of  reaching  them  than  the  gods  who  had 
been  men.  Nature  gods  had  no  temples,  nor  were  there  any 
priests.  The  most  important  of  those  to  whom  the  people 
resorted  were  the  god  of  rain  and  the  earthquake  god,  the 
Creator  being  utterly  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  man. 
In  no  instance  was  the  worship  of  a  nature  god  developed, 
and  no  requests  were  made  directly  to  them.  The  gods  were 
males,  and  were  married  to  human  wives  who  were  members  of 
the  nation ;  and  it  was  through  these  wives  that  the  gods  were 
reached  and  moved  to  compassion;  in  other  words,  the  super- 
human being  was  reached  by  means  of  the  ghost  of  the  human 
wife.  The  wife  of  each  god,  at  death,  became  a  goddess;  a 
temple  for  her  relics  was  built,  and  a  medium  with  priests 
and  full  ritual  for  worship  was  established;  the  goddess 
could  then  be  approached  and  asked  to  intercede  with  her 
husband,  who  was  out  of  reach  of  any  direct  communication, 
having  neither  temple  nor  medium. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  hero  gods,  previously 
mentioned,  were  restricted  to  particular  localities,  and  the 


PLATE  X 


SITE  WHERE  HUMAN  SACRIFICES  WERE  OFFERED  IN  UGANDA 


HASTILY  BUILT  HUT  FOR  SERVANTS'  SHELTER  FOR  NIGHT 


PLATE  XI 


THE  MUKAMA  (KING)  OF  BUNYORO  WITH  HIS  WIFE 
AND  DAUGHTERS 


IX] 


FETISHES 


145 


worshippers  had  to  visit  the  place  where  the  temple  was 
built,  in  order  to  obtain  any  assistance  from  the  god. 

Next  to  the  gods  in  value  in  religious  matters  were  fetishes, 
which  are  objects  supposed  to  convey  the  power  of  a  god  to 
the  home  or  to  the  individuals  possessing  the  fetish,  and 
especially  to  warriors  and  travellers,  who  thus  remain  under 
the  protection  of  the  god.  One  or  two  fetishes  were  said  to 
approach  very  nearly  to  equality  with  the  gods  themselves : 
Mbajwe,  for  example,  one  of  the  most  important  of  all  fetishes, 
was  held  in  great  awe,  and  had  a  temple,  medium,  and 
priests,  and  to  him  the  king  sent  periodically  offerings  of 
human  beings.  He  was  represented  as  a  serpent  with  the 
phallus  in  his  mouth.  In  Budu  a  living  python  was  wor- 
shipped, which  had  a  temple  with  a  medium  and  priests, 
while  its  special  guardian  was  a  woman  who  lived  in  the 
temple  near  the  spot  on  which  the  python  lay.  Multitudes 
of  barren  women  went  to  this  reptile,  as  each  new  moon 
appeared,  carrying  offerings,  in  order  .to  make  supplication 
for  the  power  to  become  mothers.  As  stated  above,  no 
national  god  had  a  fetish;  all  the  fetishes  which  the  people 
possessed  were  connected  with  clan  gods.  The  emblems  of 
the  national  gods  were  not  taken  away  from  the  temples, 
except  some  from  the  war-god.  The  latter  sent  his  repre- 
sentative, a  priest,  to  accompany  the  leader  of  an  expedition 
with  an  emblem  so  that  the  priest  could  consult  the  oracle 
wherever  they  might  be,  and  tell  the  general  what  line  of 
action  he  should  take,  or  warn  him  as  to  the  whereabouts  and 
designs  of  the  enemy.  Each  warrior  carried  his  particular 
fetishes;  one  was  slung  round  his  neck,  while  another  was 
fastened  to  the  handle  of  his  shield,  to  enable  him  to  parry 
missiles  of  the  enemy,  or  to  make  his  own  weapons  effective, 
and  also  to  make  him  brave  in  battle.  In  addition  to  these 
fetishes  which  a  warrior  carried  with  him,  his  home  was 
supplied  with  fetishes,  and  his  chief  wife,  named  "little  slave 
of  the  gods,"  had  the  daily  duty  of  making  offerings  to  them; 
this  duty  she  regarded  as  the  making  of  offerings  to  the 
gods,  because  she  thought  of  the  beings  represented  by  the 


R.U. 


10 


146 


VESTAL  VIRGINS 


[CH. 


fetishes,  and  not  of  the  mere  materials.  She  prayed  for 
her  husband,  that  he  might  be  protected,  and  for  the  family 
in  general;  thus  she  brought  about  good  results  both  for 
herself  and  for  her  absent  lord  and  for  the  nation.  Fetishes 
were  supplied  to  clients  by  special  vendors,  who  alone  knew 
the  secret  of  making  them  and  dedicating  them  to  the 
particular  god.  These  men  were  to  be  found  in  each  clan; 
they  were  clever  and  made  large  profits  by  their  skill;  they 
were  venerated  by  every  class  of  society,  and  might  go 
wherever  they  wished,  and  do  practically  whatever  they 
liked;  their  object  in  life  was  to  surpass  in  skill  their  fellow 
craftsmen  of  other  clans. 

The  first  wife  whom  a  man  married  was  caretaker  of  his 
fetishes,  but  in  addition  to  this  wife  many  of  the  more 
important  chiefs  had  young  girls  living  in  their  families,  who 
held  an  office  resembling  that  of  Vestal  Virgins  in  the  temples. 
These  were  always  maids  who  had  been  born  in  answer  to 
requests  made  to  a  god  by  their  parents,  especially  by  women 
who  feared  that  they  might  be  childless;  the  girls  were 
dedicated  to  the  particular  god  at  their  birth  and  bore  some 
form  of  his  name.  These  young  maids  were  sacrosanct,  and 
men  were  most  respectful  to  them  and  never  took  any 
liberties  with  them.  Their  duties  in  a  household  were  to 
carry  fetishes  to  the  master  from  his  wife,  when  he  might 
wish  to  have  them,  and  also,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
chief  wife,  to  watch  over  the  household  gods.  It  was  because 
of  her  important  position  in  the  household  as  caretaker  of 
the  fetishes,  that  it  behoved  the  chief  wife  to  be  faithful  to 
her  husband;  any  unfaithfulness  on  her  part  was  supposed 
to  cause  the  god  to  remove  his  protecting  care  from  her 
husband,  and  to  expose  the  latter  to  innumerable  dangers. 
Hence,  if  a  warrior  was  wounded  or  fell  in  battle,  his  chief 
wife  was  tried  by  ordeal,  to  discover  whether  she  was  the 
cause  of  her  husband's  misfortunes. 

Medicine-men  who  made  fetishes,  though  they  were  an 
influential  body,  were  not  attached  to  any  temple,  but 
visited  the  sick  who  sought  their  assistance.  They  gave 


PLATE  XII 


UGANDA  DRUMMERS 


PLATE  XIII 


NATIVE  OF  MT.  ELGON  IN  FULL  DRESS 


IX] 


SURGICAL  SKILL 


147 


oracles  by  means  of  the  examination  of  the  entrails  of  animals 
and  fowls;  discovered  the  cause  of  any  sickness,  whether  it  was 
due  to  magic  or  to  ghostly  possession;  they  prescribed  the 
remedies  to  be  used  in  sickness,  and  gave  the  necessary 
instructions  to  any  man  who  wished  to  work  magic  upon 
another. 

Surgical  skill  had  reached  a  high  standard,  though  we  may 
be  sure  that  it  had  cost  an  immense  number  of  lives  to  reach 
this  proficiency ;  even  a  bone  pressing  upon  the  brain  could  be 
removed,  and  the  patient  saved.  This  operation  was  performed 
when  the  skull  had  been  crushed  in  by  stones  flung  in  battle 
or  by  the  blow  of  a  club;  the  person's  reason,  if  not  his  life, 
depended  upon  a  successful  operation.  There  were  horrible 
wounds  made  by  spears  and  arrows,  in  later  years  by  gun- 
shots, and  also  many  mutilations  performed  in  anger  by  the 
king  or  the  chiefs  upon  followers  or  slaves  for  trivial  offences; 
and  the  surgeons  gained  experience  and  skill  in  treating  their 
patients.  Mutilations  consisted  chiefly  of  the  gouging  out 
of  eyes,  the  amputating  of  hands,  the  breaking  of  legs  and 
cutting  off  of  ears  and  lips.  The  surgeons,  who  were  chiefly 
medicine-men,  were  themselves  at  times  called  upon  by  some 
official  to  perform  mutilations,  at  other  times  they  were 
required  to  treat  a  case  after  mutilation  had  taken  place. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  loss  of  life  must  have  been 
great  before  these  surgeons  were  able  to  perform  their 
operations  with  the  success  which  they  obtained  later. 
Natives  do  not  suffer  much  from  nervous  shock,  which  is  so 
often  the  cause  of  death  after  an  operation  performed  on 
Europeans,  so  men  whose  stomachs  had  been  ripped  open 
with  the  bowels  protruding,  had  a  piece  of  gourd  shell  placed 
inside  to  keep  the  stomach  in  position,  and  the  flesh  was 
then  stitched  over  it.  Again,  the  idea  of  passing  into  the 
unseen  world  of  ghosts  without  a  limb,  or  in  any  wise  muti- 
lated, was  terrible  to  the  native  mind,  and  this  made  men 
anxious  to  retain  a  limb  whenever  possible.  In  battle  men 
preferred  to  die  with  a  shattered  limb  rather  than  to 
have  it  amputated  and  live.  The  fear  of  magic  was  the 

10—2 


148         SACRIFICIAL  VICTIMS  UNBURIED  [ch. 


most  severe  nervous  strain  which  the  surgeon  had  to  guard 
against ;  if  the  patient  could  be  convinced  that  there  was  no 
magical  influence  at  work,  he  would  endure  horrible  pain 
and  might  recover  from  the  most  ghastly  wound,  whereas  if 
he  received  only  a  slight  wound,  and  thought  it  was  due  to 
magic,  he  would  die,  unless  counter-magic  could  convince 
him  that  all  was  well. 

Ghostly  possession  was  a  common  form  of  sickness  which 
the  medicine-men  declared  to  be  the  result  of  a  ghost's 
anger;  they  affirmed  that  some  hostile  ghost  was  the  cause  of 
this  sickness.  Such  possessions  were  attributed  to  the  influence 
of  members  of  other  clans,  who  induced  a  ghost  of  their  own 
clan  to  afflict  a  person,  because  of  some  injury  done  to  them- 
selves or  to  one  of  their  number.  Children  were  more  often 
possessed  by  female  ghosts,  and  seldom  by  any  male  ghosts. 

When  human  victims  were  offered  for  sacrifice,  either  to 
gods  or  to  deified  kings,  the  bodies  of  the  victims  were  never 
claimed  by  their  relatives  for  burial,  but  belonged  to  the  gods, 
and  their  clan  membership  ceased.  They  passed  into  the 
ghost  world  as  retainers  of  the  particular  god ;  such  persons 
were  never  reborn,  and  in  consequence  their  bodies  were 
never  claimed,  but  left  to  decay  or  to  be  eaten  by  wild 
beasts  and  birds  at  the  sacrificial  place.  In  the  early  days 
of  Christian  missions  an  attempt  was  made  to  have  the 
Christian  dead  buried  in  the  churchyards,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  heathen  by  having  a  religious  burial  according 
to  Christian  custom,  and  to  disregard  the  clan  custom  and 
burial  grounds.  A  few  Christians  agreed  to  this  rule  and 
had  their  dead  buried  in  the  common  church  burial  grounds, 
but  after  a  time  the  clan  members  of  those  who  had  died 
begged  leave  to  remove  all  the  male  dead,  and  took  their 
bodies  to  their  own  clan  burial  grounds,  leaving  only  a  few 
graves  of  women.  It  has  always  been  the  rule  for  a  husband 
to  bury  his  wife  near  his  house  where  she  died,  and  after  her 
burial  to  destroy  this  house;  there  was  therefore  no  particular 
reason  for  removing  the  bodies  of  women.  It  was  customary 
to  attribute  success  in  life  to  the  influence  of  some  ghost, 


IX] 


DEATH  CEREMONIES 


149 


and  to  offer  a  sacrifice  to  it  when  any  good  fortune  attended 
a  man;  the  offering  had  a  public  character,  and  relatives 
and  friends  assembled  to  partake  of  the  sacred  meal  near 
the  shrine  built  for  the  ghost.  An  animal  was  killed  near 
the  shrine,  the  blood  was  allowed  to  flow  upon  the  ground 
and  to  run  into  the  shrine,  the  meat  was  then  cooked  and 
eaten  on  the  spot;  thus  the  relatives  partook  of  a  sacred 
meal  in  the  presence  of  the  ghost  and  with  it,  thus  giving  it 
credit  for  the  good  received. 

The  ceremony  at  the  death  of  a  king  was  entirely  different 
from  that  at  the  death  of  an  ordinary  person;  indeed  it  is 
never  allowed  that  a  king  has  died;  the  "fire  is  extinct "  is 
the  usual  phrase  employed  to  express  his  death;  the  king 
may  be  said  to  have  gone  to  the  world  of  his  forefathers, 
but  he  is  not  dead.  The  ceremony  at  his  death  is  fuller  than 
any  which  takes  place  even  for  the  most  noted  chief,  and  it 
bears  a  different  character  quite  apart  from  the  practice  of 
embalming  the  body.  A  number  of  people  were  appointed  to 
die  when  the  burial  of  a  king  took  place,  because  they  were 
office  bearers  whose  duties  were  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  the  king;  these  people,  both 
men  and  women,  were  put  to  death,  in  order  to  set  their 
spirits  free  to  continue  their  ordinary  duties  to  the  king 
in  the  ghost  world.  The  people  selected  for  death  never 
shrank  from  their  doom;  their  future  estate,  they  thought, 
ensured  such  an  honourable  position  as  to  compensate  them 
for  the  cutting  short  of  their  earthly  career;  indeed  some 
widows  went  so  far  as  to  beg  for  the  honour  of  dying,  and 
welcomed  death,  in  order  to  accompany  the  man  who  gave 
them  an  honourable  position.  A  large  number  of  slaves  and 
other  persons  were  also  despatched  at  the  same  time;  they 
too  were  required  for  the  retinue  of  the  royal  ghost,  and  they 
did  not  murmur  because  of  their  fate.  Another  important 
point  to  remember  is  that  the  ghosts  of  kings  were  never 
reincarnated;  the  kings  were  deified  and  therefore  did  not 
return  to  this  life.  Hence  the  office  given  to  any  person  to 
attend  a  departed  king  was  permanent,  and  took  away  all 


150 


TEMPLE  OFFICES 


[CH. 


hope  and  desire  of  a  return  to  earthly  life.  In  addition  to 
the  number  of  persons  executed  to  occupy  offices  in  the 
ghost  world,  there  were  also  permanent  offices  at  the  temple 
given  to  old  servants,  and  these  were  kept  from  dying  out 
by  the  members  of  the  clan  to  which  the  first  holders  of 
the  office  belonged.  Take  for  example  the  highest  office, 
that  of  the  queen ;  at  the  death  of  her  husband  the  widowed 
queen  removed  from  her  old  home  to  a  new  house,  built 
for  her  near  the  temple  in  which  the  relics  of  her  late  hus- 
band were  deposited ;  there  she  was  installed  with  full  power 
over  the  officers  and  servants  connected  with  the  temple. 
There  were  certain  widows  who  were  appointed  to  live  in 
the  temple,  and  in  houses  near  it,  and  in  the  courtyard  in 
front  of  the  temple.  When  the  queen  died,  the  reigning  king 
appointed  another  princess  to  take  her  office,  to  be  her  heir, 
and  also  to  be  wife  to  the  dead  king.  In  like  manner,  whenever 
any  widow  in  the  temple  or  temple  courts  died,  it  was  the 
duty  of  her  clan  members  to  appoint  another  woman  of 
their  clan  to  take  her  office,  thus  preserving  it,  and  retaining 
every  obligation  which  the  king  during  his  life  had  required 
of  her.  Each  chief  who  became  a  retainer  of  a  temple  was, 
at  his  death,  replaced  by  another  man  of  his  clan,  and  thus 
the  office  was  perpetuated,  and  any  peculiar  duty  with  its 
traditions  was  retained.  These  chiefs  lived  near  the  temple, 
and  held  office  under  the  queen  whose  title  was  Nalinya. 
When  one  of  them  died,  his  clan  appointed  another  person 
to  take  his  place,  thus  perpetuating  the  office  and  retaining 
any  traditions  connected  with  it.  A  widow  in  the  temple 
might  be  released  from  her  office  and  marry,  but  on  one 
condition  only,  namely,  that  of  obtaining  the  consent  of  the 
clan  to  which  she  belonged,  who  then  elected  some  other 
woman  to  take  her  place.  She  was  removed  from  the  temple, 
and  married  from  her  old  home,  and  not  from  the  temple, 
as  an  ordinary  member  of  the  clan.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  these  women  in  the  temple  were  not  called  widows, 
nor  considered  as  such,  but  were  wives  of  the  departed  king, 
who  was  spoken  of  as  still  living.  The  reigning  king  supplied 


IX] 


TEMPLES  AND  MEDIUMS 


151 


an  estate  for  each  temple,  which  amply  provided  for  the 
needs  of  all  the  officers  connected  with  it. 

In  a  royal  temple  daily  interviews  were  given  to  people 
by  the  deceased  king;  his  court  was  arranged  as  though  he 
were  alive,  and  the  assembled  crowds  sat  in  front  of  the 
royal  dais  where  the  king  was  said  to  be  invisibly  present. 
Food  was  taken  to  the  temple  for  the  king,  with  fowls, 
animals,  and  beer,  and  was  handed  over  to  the  wives  for 
use.  There  were  times  when  the  medium  gave  some  special 
message  to  the  nation,  but  the  regular  oracles  were  reserved 
for  the  king  alone,  because  they  concerned  the  state  and 
government.  The  medium  first  chosen  for  office  was  a  man 
who  had  been  in  the  deceased  king's  service,  and  who  there- 
fore knew  many  of  his  peculiarities;  this  man  was  found  to 
have  the  spirit  of  the  king  upon  him,  causing  him  to  act  as 
the  king  had  done,  to  speak  as  he  used  to  speak,  and  to 
imitate  his  gestures  and  mode  of  walk;  this  was  the  sign 
that  he  was  possessed  by  the  ghost,  and  he  was  then  set 
apart  for  this  work  of  a  medium  and  lived  in  the  temple. 
He  was  not  always  under  the  influence  of  the  ghost,  nor  was 
he  restricted  to  the  temple  enclosure;  there  were  periods 
when  he  moved  about  in  his  natural  way;  but  when  he  was 
required  to  give  an  oracle,  he  went  through  a  form  of 
preparation:  he  sat  near  a  fire  in  the  sacred  chamber  of 
the  temple,  smoked  a  special  pipe,  and  gazed  into  the  fire, 
until  at  length  he  began  to  speak  in  the  tones  of  the  late 
king  and  to  utter  the  words  of  the  oracle ;  he  was  then  said 
to  be  under  the  influence  of  the  spirit  ,  of  the  king. 

The  king  had  a  shrine  of  his  immediate  predecessor  in  his 
own  compound,  to  which  he  frequently  went  to  obtain  an 
oracle,  and  the  medium  visited  this  place  to  give  it.  On  two 
or  three  occasions  during  his  reign,  the  king  would  visit  the 
temple;  each  occasion  was  one  of  great  display  and  called 
for  great  preparation  and  attracted  thousands  of  people. 
The  relics  of  the  former  king  were  displayed,  and  the  king 
sat  before  his  predecessor  and  had  the  decorated  umbilical 
cords  of  various  past  kings  handed  to  him.  The  priest  in 


152  BIRTH  CEREMONIES  [ch. 

charge  explained  each  relic,  as  he  handed  it  to  the  king, 
who  took  it  and  examined  it  and  handed  it  back  to  the 
caretaker.  During  this  visit  there  were  drums  beaten  and 
dances  performed  and  songs  sung.  When  the  king  was 
returning  home,  he  gave  the  order  to  capture  and  to  lead 
back  to  the  temple  a  certain  number  of  people  from  his 
followers.  These  men  were  either  speared  or  clubbed  to 
death  at  the  temple,  and  thus  sent  to  join  the  retinue  of  the 
former  king  in  the  ghost  world. 

At  the  time  of  the  deification  of  the  king,  whose  tomb  was 
visited,  it  was  necessary  to  produce  the  stump  of  the  um- 
bilical cord  and  to  place  it  in  the  temple  with  the  jawbone, 
because  each  object  had  its  ghost;  by  this  union  of  objects 
the  two  ghosts  were  brought  together  and  a  perfect  deity 
obtained.  The  so-called  twin  of  royalty,  that  is  the  stump 
of  navel  cord,  was  carefully  preserved,  though  in  the  case 
of  a  peasant  it  was  seldom  kept  after  the  naming  ceremony 
mentioned  above.  The  reason  for  the  care  taken  of  the 
umbilical  cord  of  a  prince  was  that,  when  a  prince  came  to 
the  throne,  his  umbilical  cord  was  required  for  a  monthly 
parade  during  his  life,  and  after  his  death  for  his  deification ; 
whereas  that  of  a  peasant  was  not  needed  after  the  naming 
ceremony  had  been  performed.  It  was  usual  to  place  the 
stump  of  umbilical  cord  of  a  peasant  with  the  placenta  at 
the  root  of  a  plantain  tree  after  the  naming  ceremony.  This 
plantain  tree  was  for  years  guarded  as  sacred  by  the  mother, 
who  considered  it  to  be  vitally  connected  with  the  child 
whose  cord  was  buried  there,  and  the  fruit  might  only  be 
eaten  by  specially  chosen  members  of  the  family.  If  the 
flowers  from  such  a  plantain  tree  fell  upon  the  back  of  a 
woman,  they  were  said  to  indicate  that  a  child  spirit  was 
entering  her,  and  she  invariably  became  a  mother  shortly 
afterwards. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  ceremony  of  offering 
human  beings  to  the  ghosts  of  kings;  it  remains  now  to 
explain  further  upon  the  religious  idea  in  connection  with 
offerings  to  the  gods,  and  to  state  the  precautions  taken  to 


IX] 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES 


153 


prevent  the  ghosts  of  the  victims  offered  from  haunting  the 
living.  Human  sacrifices  were  made  at  the  instigation  and 
under  the  instructions  of  the  priest  of  the  temple  of  the  war 
god,  who  stated  that  he  had  received  instructions  from  the 
god  to  tell  the  king  to  capture  and  offer  a  number  of 
human  beings.  These  sacrifices  were  demanded  for  various 
reasons,  either  because  some  person  was  said  to  be  about  to 
rebel  and  cause  civil  war,  or  because  they  were  required  to 
ward  off  sickness  or  some  calamity  threatening  the  nation. 
The  victims  to  be  offered  were  described  by  the  priest; 
there  might  be  pointed  out  some  particular  colouring  of  the 
flesh  or  some  deformity,  or  they  might  be  known  by  the 
manner  in  which  they  carried  some  article ;  whatever  was  the 
distinctive  feature,  it  was  made  known  to  the  king,  and  by 
him  given  secretly  to  the  men  who  were  to  effect  the 
capture.  It  was  incumbent  upon  the  king  to  send  his  secret 
police  to  various  places  commanding  the  roads  which  led  to 
the  capital  and  were  in  consequence  more  frequented,  in 
order  to  capture  the  victims  in  accordance  with  the  instruc- 
tions given;  as  the  people  were  captured  they  were  taken 
to  the  royal  residence  and  detained  there  until  the  number 
required  was  complete.  The  god  was  informed,  and  he  then 
gave  the  order  as  to  where  and  how  the  victims  were  to  be 
sacrificed,  to  appease  the  god  and  stay  the  calamity.  The 
orders  given  to  the  police,  who  went  to  arrest  the  victims, 
were  secret,  and  they  hid  themselves  near  the  roads,  and 
carried  out  their  instructions  regardless  of  sex  or  rank,  and 
in  as  unostentatious  manner  as  possible.  The  victims  never 
raised  any  cry  of  protest  when  they  discovered  the  object 
of  their  arrest,  and  it  was  useless  to  fight  for  freedom  when 
captured,  though  flight  was  permissible,  if  the  police  failed 
to  seize  a  man  when  they  sprang  out  upon  him.  Clan 
members  used  every  effort  by  petitions  and  bribes  to  the 
king  to  rescue  their  relatives,  but  if  these  failed,  they  yielded 
to  the  inevitable.  The  nation  never  resented  such  a  number 
of  people  being  captured  and  removed  at  a  stroke,  while 
the  calm  manner  and  almost  indifference  with  which  the 


154 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES 


[CH. 


victims  went  to  their  death  was  remarkable.  Men  who  have 
seized  and  executed  numbers  of  such  victims  testify  to  their 
calm  acquiescence,  since  they  believed  that  they  were  giving 
their  lives  for  the  salvation  of  their  country.  It  was  only  on 
the  most  rare  occasions  that  a  man  would  raise  a  protest 
when  being  led  to  death,  and  declare  that  he  would  take 
vengeance  from  the  ghost  world.  The  victims  were  given 
medicated  wine  to  drink  before  they  were  executed,  but  this 
was  not  to  allay  the  pain  or  suffering  at  execution,  but  to  give 
the  king  and  the  priest  power  over  the  ghost,  to  prevent  it 
from  returning  to  cause  trouble  to  the  living.  Each  sacrificial 
place  had  its  shrine  in  which  was  a  sacred  pot  for  holding  the 
medicated  wine,  and  the  shrine  was  guarded  by  a  medicine- 
man who  made  the  special  drink ;  from  this  pot  each  captive 
was  requested  to  drink,  and  if  he  refused,  a  little  of  the 
wine  was  poured  over  him,  and  was  said  to  have  the  same 
effect  as  if  he  had  drunk  the  wine,  namely,  that  of  binding 
the  spirit,  so  that  it  could  not  return  to  molest  the  living. 
The  clothing  of  the  captives  was  removed  from  them  at 
this  place,  and  they  were  taken  naked  to  death.  The  bodies 
of  such  victims  were  never  buried,  nor  was  there  any  offering 
made  to  the  ghost  at  the  time  of  death;  the  only  offering 
made  was  the  clothing  of  one  or  at  most  of  two  of  the  victims, 
which  was  taken  from  them  before  death,  and  hung  upon  a 
tree  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  site  of  execution.  Relatives 
often  tried  to  bribe  the  king  so  as  to  obtain  the  release  of  a 
victim,  before  the  order  was  given  to  take  him  to  the  sacrificial 
place;  and  it  was  sometimes  possible  to  bribe  the  chief  of 
the  executioners  to  allow  a  captive  to  escape  when  going  to 
the  place  of  execution.  This  was,  however,  only  possible  at 
certain  places,  most  of  the  sacrificial  places  were  regarded 
with  such  awe,  that  no  hope  of  escape  was  held  out  to  relatives. 
The  king  has  also  been  known  to  relent  when  some  favourite 
of  his  was  captured,  and  to  send  after  the  executioner  and 
direct  him  to  spare  the  victim,  especially  when  the  latter 
was  a  favourite  page,  or  some  chief  who  had  rendered  special 
services  to  the  state  and  stood  high  in  royal  esteem  and 


IX] 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES 


155 


favour.  Such  a  released  prisoner  was  known  as  "The  one 
who  was  spared,"  Kawonawo.  He  made  the  king  a  present 
of  a  white  fowl  immediately  on  his  return  and  afterwards 
brought  a  worthy  offering  of  cattle  and  slaves  for  the  king, 
and  also  made  offerings  to  his  god.  Wives  were  permitted 
to  take  leave  of  their  husbands  before  they  started  on  this 
last  journey  to  the  place  of  death,  but  these  farewell  meetings 
and  partings  were  marked  by  what  to  us  appears  as  stolid 
indifference  on  the  part  of  the  husband.  The  wife  carried 
the  water-pot  and  cooking-pot  which  she  had  used  for  the 
husband,  to  some  place  near  the  royal  enclosure,  where  the 
meeting  took  place,  and  broke  them  before  him,  in  token 
that  she  would  have  no  further  use  of  them  for  him. 

The  office  of  executioner  was  eagerly  sought  after  by  the 
members  of  the  king's  body  guard.  The  men  destined  for 
death  were  sent  off  in  batches  under  the  charge  of  large 
numbers  of  warriors,  who  marched  with  songs  and  drums,  as 
though  going  to  a  dance,  and  the  victims  often  took  part  in 
the  songs.  The  hope  of  gain  seems  to  have  been  the  cause 
which  moved  men  to  seek  the  office  of  executioner,  rather 
than  the  desire  to  carry  out  the  ghastly  sentence  of  death  or 
to  satisfy  morbid  feelings  for  the  sight  of  blood.  Victims, 
when  going  to  the  sacrificial  places,  were  often  induced  to 
make  over  cattle  and  other  valuables  to  their  executioners, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  spared  unnecessary  pain  at 
death,  and  sometimes  they  were  able  to  buy  their  lives  and 
were  given  a  chance  of  escape.  At  some  of  these  sacrificial 
places  the  methods  of  execution  were  of  a  cruel  and  revolting 
nature,  and  must  have  involved  untold  suffering  for  the 
victims;  for  example  some  were  taken  to  an  island  of  the 
lake  to  become  offerings  to  crocodiles;  they  had  their  arms 
and  legs  broken,  and  were  placed  in  rows  to  await  the  coming 
of  sacred  crocodiles  who  carried  them  off  and  ended  their 
pain;  yet  these  tortures  were  thought  to  be  pleasing  to  the 
gods.  The  victims,  though  pagans,  were  of  opinion  that  their 
deaths  were  beneficial  to  the  country,  they  went  to  execution 
calmly  for  the  good  of  the  community,  and  were  buoyed  up 


156 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES 


[CH. 


by  the  idea  that  they  would  be  with  the  gods  as  their 
followers  and  retainers.  Another  kind  of  sacrifice  which 
involved  prolonged  suffering  was  made,  either  to  stay  small- 
pox, or  to  remove  some  imagined  evil  which  adhered  to  an 
army  returning  from  some  punitive  expedition,  and  to  the 
spoil  taken  in  war.  It  was  thought  necessary  to  find  a  means 
of  removing  the  evil  or  plague,  and  returning  it  to  the  land 
from  which  it  had  come.  A  woman  with  her  baby,  a  cow, 
a  goat,  a  fowl,  and  a  dog  were  selected.  The  sickness  or  evil 
was  removed  from  the  army  and  the  spoil  of  war  by  the 
priests,  who  rubbed  a  bunch  of  special  leaves  of  herbs  over 
the  people  and  animals  to  be  cleansed;  these  were  then  tied 
round  the  necks  of  the  victims,  men  were  chosen  to  lead 
them  back  to  the  border  of  the  country  whence  they  had 
come,  where  they  broke  their  limbs,  and  left  them  to  die, 
with  the  sickness  or  evil  upon  them.  A  similar  ceremony 
was  performed  when  the  king  was  about  to  be  crowned,  after 
he  had  completed  the  mourning  ceremonies  for  his  pre- 
decessor; a  human  victim  was  chosen,  to  whom  any  evil 
that  might  be  resting  upon  the  king  was  transferred,  and 
he  was  taken  over  the  frontier  into  an  adjacent  country, 
maimed  as  mentioned  above,  and  left  to  die  with  the  evil 
from  the  king  upon  him.  This  freed  the  king  from  magic  or 
other  ill  that  might  be  clinging  to  him,  and  enabled  him  to 
begin  his  reign  in  full  strength. 

The  ceremonial  use  of  drums  needs  a  little  further  notice, 
because  drums  held  an  important  place  both  in  secular  and 
in  religious  life.  There  were  special  drums  for  the  sole  use  of 
the  king,  in  which  were  fetishes  of  a  particular  kind;  these 
drums  were  thought  to  increase  the  vigour  of  the  king, 
when  they  were  beaten,  and  the  sound  reached  the  ears  of 
his  majesty.  Human  offerings  were  made  to  them  when  the 
king  was  crowned,  and  the  blood  of  the  victims  was  run  into 
them.  Some  of  these  fetishes  which  have  been  examined  are 
\  of  phallic  origin.  Such  drums  were  regarded  as  sacred  and 
were  used  at  special  times  by  day  or  by  night  for  the  benefit 
of  the  king;  the  fetishes  also  were  restricted  to  the  king's 


IX] 


DRUMS  AND  THEIR  USE 


157 


use  and  were  never  allowed  to  be  used  by  other  people. 
There  were  other  drums  in  the  royal  enclosure  for  more 
ordinary  purposes;  there  was  also  a  special  band  of  drums, 
graded  from  small  to  large,  reserved  for  the  king's  use. 

The  use  of  drums  was  much  more  extensive  than  is  likely 
to  be  believed  by  people  who  use  the  drum  for  little  more  than 
to  regulate  the  rhythm  of  a  band.  Not  only  had  each  temple 
its  drum  with  distinctive  rhythmical  beats,  but  the  king 
had  a  number  of  drums  for  his  private  use  with  special 
rhythms.  Again  when  the  king  presented  a  chief  with  any 
office  or  chieftainship,  he  conferred  upon  him  a  drum;  so 
general  was  this  custom,  that  it  was  said  when  a  chief  was 
given  a  new  office,  that  he  had  "eaten  a  drum,"  meaning  he 
had  been  promoted.  There  were  literally  several  hundred  dif- 
ferent beats  for  drums,  and  each  rhythm  was  known  by  the 
people,  and  conveyed  a  definite  meaning  to  them,  as  the  waves 
of  sound  do  to  the  wireless  telegraphist.  One  rhythm  con- 
veyed to  the  hearer  the  fact  that  some  particular  chief  was 
passing,  another  that  a  dance  was  taking  place,  another  was 
a  call  to  war,  another  indicated  a  fire  alarm,  and  so  forth. 
The  drum  was  thus  equivalent  to  wireless  telegraphy,  carrying 
messages  far  and  wide  and  as  quickly  as  sound  travels.  In 
the  case  of  any  urgent  call  or  claim,  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
first  person  at  a  distance  who  heard  the  rhythm  to  repeat 
the  message,  and  thus  in  a  few  minutes  a  claim  or  call  was 
carried  hundred  of  miles. 

Before  we  pass  on  from  the  gods  and  worship  to  another 
subject,  the  god  of  plague  needs  to  be  mentioned.  This  deity 
is  said  to  have  taken  a  human  body  which  was  merely  a 
human  trunk;  a  child  born  without  arms  and  legs  was 
believed  to  be  the  incarnate  god.  The  circumstances  under 
which  this  child  was  born  are  briefly  as  follows:  a  prince 
married  a  woman  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his  brother  the 
king,  and  against  the  advice  of  the  priests.  The  outcome  of 
this  marriage  was  the  birth  of  a  child  without  limbs,  which 
was  declared  by  the  priests  to  be  the  god  of  plague.  The 
mother  with  her  child  was  summarily  banished  from  the 


158 


THE  PLAGUE  GOD 


[CH. 


country  by  lake  to  Busoga;  but  the  poor  hunted  woman  was 
not  permitted  to  remain  there,  and  wandered  from  place  to 
place,  seeking  a  home,  but  meeting  with  expulsion  in  each 
country  to  which  she  went,  until  at  length  she  took  up 
her  abode  upon  a  hill,  on  the  frontier  of  Uganda  and 
Bunyoro,  a  kind  of  no  man's  land,  where  she  lived  and  where 
she  died.  After  the  death  of  her  son  he  was  deified,  and  the 
house  in  which  he  lived  and  died  was  turned  into  a  temple, 
where  his  nurse  became  the  medium.  A  hole,  probably  the 
open  grave  in  the  house,  was  said  to  be  the  god's  place  of 
abode;  it  was  covered  with  a  rug  made  from  the  skins  of  a 
species  of  small  wild  cat,  which  was  kept  in  place  by  stones 
round  the  edges.  Whenever  plague  appeared  in  the  country, 
it  was  said  that  the  god  had  escaped  from  his  residence  and 
had  caused  the  calamity.  The  hole  was  then  examined,  and 
any  defect  made  good  by  the  addition  of  a  new  cover  of  skins  ; 
and  priests  were  sent  from  the  temple  to  deal  with  the  plague 
stricken  centre  and  to  treat  the  sick.  If  anyone  died,  the 
widow,  the  children,  and  all  the  property  in  the  hut  of  the 
deceased  were  confiscated  and  taken  to  the  temple  of  the 
god  of  plague,  and  no  mourning  for  the  dead  might  begin 
until  the  relatives  had  redeemed  the  widow  and  children.  The 
priests  treated  any  sick  whom  they  found,  and  purified  the 
place  where  there  had  been  plague;  after  this  the  people  were 
permitted  to  return  to  their  homes.  Whenever  the  people 
saw  dead  rats  in  or  about  their  houses,  they  fled  away  from 
the  place,  and  sent  offerings  to  the  plague  god,  and  asked  the 
priests  to  come  and  purify  their  abode ;  they  had  learnt  by 
experience  that  dead  rats  indicated  a  plague. 

About  eighteen  years  ago  a  child  was  born  in  Mengo  with- 
out any  limbs,  and  the  relatives  and  friends  fearing  that  it 
was  the  plague  god  who  had  returned,  wished  to  strangle  the 
child.  The  chief  of  the  district,  however,  who  was  a  Christian, 
saved  it  and  brought  it  to  the  mission,  and  asked  advice 
what  to  do  with  it ;  he  was  told  to  save  its  life  and  to  have 
it  nursed.  The  boy  is  still  alive,  he  has  learnt  to  read  and  is 
a  Christian.  It  is  a  strange  sight  to  see  this  youth  when  he 


IX] 


MAGIC 


159 


wishes  to  move  about  in  a  room;  he  rolls  over  and  over, 
until  he  reaches  the  desired  place,  when  he  sits  up.  He  is 
carried  to  and  from  his  home  by  a  hired  attendant. 

The  fear  of  magic  is  intense;  all  classes  alike  dread  its 
power,  and  never  feel  sure  that  they  are  free  from  its  influence. 
In  former  times  the  most  trivial  circumstances,  such  as  the 
walking  over  broken  sticks,  or  a  bone  in  the  path  would  arouse 
suspicion;  a  thoughtless  remark  in  conversation  would  throw 
a  man  into  a  nervous  condition,  and  he  would  lose  all 
interest  in  his  surroundings,  go  home  in  a  listless  mood,  fall 
sick  and,  unless  the  medicine-man  could  induce  him  to  believe 
that  the  evil  or  magic  had  been  removed  or  overcome,  he 
would  die.  It  was  useless  to  try  to  persuade  such  a  man  that 
he  need  not  be  afraid;  his  belief  in  the  power  of  magic  was  far 
too  strong  to  enable  him  to  cast  it  aside  and  treat  the  matter 
lightly;  nothing  but  more  potent  magic  sufficient  to  nullify 
the  effect  of  the  former  would  satisfy  his  imagination,  and 
unless  this  was  forthcoming,  he  would  succumb  to  fear. 

A  definite  case  of  the  dread  of  magic  recurs  to  my  mind, 
that  of  a  man  who  was  wounded  by  a  leopard.  A  leopard 
fought  a  large  dog  against  the  door  of  my  house  about  ten 
o'clock  one  night,  giving  me  an  uncomfortable  ten  minutes, 
because  I  had  no  weapons  in  the  room.  I  feared  that  the 
flimsy  reed  door  would  not  bear  the  pressure  of  two  large 
animals  against  it.  After  a  brief  struggle  the  poor  dog  was 
killed  and  carried  off  by  the  leopard.  On  the  next  morning 
I  sent  to  the  prime  minister  to  request  him  to  organise  a 
hunt  and  kill  the  beast,  as  I  did  not  care  to  have  it  secreted 
in  my  garden.  The  hunt  duly  took  place,  because  (as  I  was 
informed)  a  woman  had  been  carried  off  during  the  same 
night  a  little  lower  down  the  hill  than  my  garden,  and  her 
remains  were  placed  in  the  forked  branches  of  a  tree  by  a 
leopard  after  it  had  feasted  upon  her.  Both  leopards  were 
hunted  out  and  were  killed  within  a  short  time  of  each  other, 
but  not  before  some  of  the  beaters  had  been  clawed.  The 
mode  of  hunting  wild  beasts  of  this  type  is  to  call  together 
hundreds  of  beaters,  who  assemble  with  clubs  and  encircle 


i6o 


LEOPARD  HUNTING 


[CH.  IX 


the  ground  in  which  the  animal  is  known  to  be  in  hiding. 
Drums  are  beaten  and  songs  sung,  as  the  men  with  their 
heavy  clubs  beat  down  grass  and  bushes  in  their  advance, 
drawing  in  their  circle,  until  at  length  they  come  upon  the 
terrified  animal  and  club  it  down.  No  guns  or  spears  are 
allowed  to  be  used  during  these  hunts  because  of  the  danger 
to  the  beaters  in  the  circle.  In  this  particular  hunt  a  leopard 
sprang  upon  the  beaters  and  clawed  three  of  the  men  on 
their  heads.  The  wounded  men  were  brought  to  me  to  have 
their  scratches  dressed;  the  worst  case  was  that  of  a  man 
clawed  on  his  scalp,  which  was  badly  torn;  the  second  man 
had  wounds  on  the  head,  face,  and  shoulder,  while  the  third 
had  one  claw  wound  in  the  neck.  The  first  two  men  were 
cheerful,  while  the  third  was  depressed.  I  told  them  to  come 
again  the  next  day,  but  the  third  man  replied:  "I  won't 
come  again,  I  am  going  to  die."  I  tried  to  cheer  him  and 
told  him  that  the  wound  was  not  serious;  he,  however,  said 
that  it  was  magic  and  that  he  would  die,  and  he  actually 
died  during  the  night.  The  others  came  on  the  following  day 
and  told  me  that  their  companion  was  dead.  It  was  a  case 
of  death  from  fright  and  the  belief  in  the  power  of  magic 
which  we  occasionally  meet  with. 


CHAPTER  X 


SOCIOLOGY  OF  THE  BAGANDA— A  SECOND  RISING 
OF  THE  SUDANESE 

THE  sociology  of  the  Baganda  people  is  deeply  interesting, 
though  to  an  Englishman  there  is  much  that  is  perplex- 
ing. He  is  likely  to  misunderstand  many  of  the  customs,  or 
to  attribute  much  that  is  done  to  wrong  causes,  until  he  has 
been  long  enough  in  the  country  to  be  able  to  understand, 
according  to  native  mode  of  thought,  the  reasons  for  a  par- 
ticular action.  The  Englishman  must  recognise  the  fact  that 
most  of  the  customs  and  relationships  are  different  from  his 
own. 

Clan  membership,  with  its  wide  range  of  relationship  and 
binding  conditions,  has  been  of  the  greatest  service  to  men 
and  women,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  the  system  is  breaking  down 
under  the  influence  of  Western  culture.  Blood  relationship 
is  patrilineal,  with  the  great  and  most  interesting  exception 
to  be  mentioned  later  of  the  royal  family,  in  whose  case  it  is 
matrilineal;  the  father's  clan  becomes  the  clan  of  his  children, 
irrespective  of  any  maternal  claims.  Relationship  under  this 
system  is  reduced  to  five  grades  of  age  limitations;  thus  a 
man  has  two  generations  above  him,  that  is  to  say,  his  father 
and  the  men  of  his  father's  age,  all  of  whom  he  calls  father, 
and  his  father's  father  with  the  men  of  that  generation, 
whom  he  calls  grandfather.  The  women  of  these  generations 
have  also  their  particular  terms  of  recognition,  which  are 
equivalent  to  aunt  and  grandmother.  In  the  man's  own 
generation  all  men  are  his  brothers,  and  all  women  his  sisters, 
who  are  of  the  same  clan.  In  the  generation  below  him  they 
are  all  his  children,  and  in  the  generation  below  that,  they 
are  his  grandchildren.  A  man  may  not  marry  those  who  are 
his  cousins  on  his  mother's  side,  that  is  the  daughters  of  his 
mother's  brothers,  all  of  whom  he  calls  mother,  but  his  grand- 
children may  marry  the  mother's  brother's  grandchildren.  A 


R.U. 


ii 


l62 


CLAN  RELATIONSHIP 


[CH. 


man  calls  also  his  mother's  sisters  mother,  and  her  parents 
grandparents,  but  the  relationships  on  the  female  side  are 
much  more  elastic  and  are  sooner  forgotten  than  those  on  the 
male  side,  and  it  is  on  the  father's  side  that  the  relationship 
continues  rigid,  especially  in  regard  to  marriage.  It  was 
obligatory  for  a  man  who  wished  to  marry  a  second  wife,  to 
marry  a  woman  from  the  clan  of  his  father's  mother,  and  all 
the  women  of  that  clan  stood  to  him  in  the  relationship  of 
grandmother.  As  a  rule  he  sought  out  a  young  woman  from 
his  grandmother's  clan,  and  she  stood  in  the  relationship  of 
mother  to  his  father,  though  through  this  marriage  she  be- 
came the  latter's  daughter-in-law.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing 
for  women  to  speak  in  strange  terms  of  these  extraordinary 
relationships ;  for  example  a  woman  may  be  heard  to  say  that 
she  is  the  mother  of  a  man  who  has  been  dead  for  a  hundred 
years;  by  which  she  merely  means  that  a  woman  of  her  clan 
was  the  actual  mother  of  the  man;  yet  to  herself  the  relation- 
ship is  so  intensely  real  as  to  enable  her  to  disregard  the 
lapse  of  time  and  to  speak  of  it  as  though  it  were  present. 

These  relationships  were  of  the  greatest  value  in  deciding 
questions  of  marriage,  and  clan  membership  also  gave  a  man 
the  right  to  claim  help  from  the  most  distant  relative,  who 
we  might  have  said  was  no  relative,  but  whom  the  native 
claimed  through  his  totemic  bond  as  a  real  blood  relation. 

Nothing  new  could  be  ascertained  from  the  clans  respecting 
the  origin  of  totemism;  what  seems  to  have  been  a  fact  is 
that  each  clan  claims  a  particular  person  as  its  father  and 
retains  his  name;  in  some  instances  this  father  is  recorded 
to  have  had  more  than  one  wife.  Where  there  is  more  than 
one  totem  observed,  the  second  seems  to  have  been  the 
totem  of  the  mother  and  this  became  the  secondary  object 
of  veneration  for  the  children,  the  father's  being  the  chief 
object.  Each  of  these  families  held  its  own  lands  and  for 
a  period  of  many  years  held  aloof  from  its  neighbours,  to 
this  extent  that  no  one  occupied  lands  claimed  by  members 
of  another  family,  nor  permitted  any  person  to  settle  upon 
its  estates.    From  tradition  and  from  the  acknowledged 


CLAN  EXOGAMY 


163 


rights  of  clan  burial  grounds,  there  is  no  reason  for  thinking 
otherwise  than  that  the  clans  had  each  their  own  districts, 
which  were  ruled  by  their  head  man  whom  they  called 
father,  and  that  the  family  owned  no  other  authority  than 
his,  and  paid  taxes  to  him  only.  These  clans  lived  on  friendly 
terms  with  each  other,  and  were  exogamous,  that  is  to  say 
no  man  might  marry  a  woman  bearing  the  same  totems  as 
his  own.  The  marriage  relations  kept  the  clans  friendly, 
and  sufficiently  intimate  to  enable  them  to  wish  to  live 
together  amicably,  and  to  seek  each  other's  welfare.  The 
national  food  has  been  that  of  plantains  from  prehistoric 
days;  there  is,  however,  a  tradition  that  their  forefather,  who 
was  the  first  man  in  existence,  owned  a  cow  and  lived  entirely 
upon  the  milk  which  the  animal  gave.  No  reliance  can  be 
placed  upon  this  story  as  pointing  to  a  period  when  the 
aborigines  were  pastoral,  because  the  supposed  forefather 
belonged  to  the  princely  caste,  and,  according  to  other 
traditions,  the  members  of  this  caste  were  invaders  and  were 
most  probably  allied  to  the  great  family  of  pastoral  people. 
The  original  inhabitants  of  the  country,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  all  agricultural  people,  and  their  freehold  lands  are 
situated  on  hills  thickly  covered  with  plantain  groves,  whereas 
the  pastoral  peoples  love  the  plains  and  grass  lands,  and  avoid 
cultivation  and  all  manual  labour  as  being  deleterious  to  their 
herds. 

There  are  various  theories  propounded  by  the  different  clans 
as  to  the  origin  of  their  totems,  but  a  careful  investigation 
shows  that  the  totem  agrees  with  the  life  calling  or  occupation 
of  the  family ;  pastoral  people  had  a  predilection  for  the  cow, 
for  milk  and  dairy  produce,  and  cows  at  different  periods  of 
their  existence  as  totems,  while  agricultural  people  have  a 
wide  range  of  vegetable,  animal,  and  insect  life,  and  by  no 
means  limit  their  totemic  objects  to  articles  used  as  food. 
People  living  near  the  shores  of  the  Victoria  Nyanza  include 
among  their  totemic  objects  reptiles  and  fishes  and  birds. 
Thus  in  the  region  of  Uganda  we  find  inedible  birds,  animals, 
reptiles,  and  plants  used  as  totems,  and  this  precludes  the 


11 — 2 


164 


THE  BENEFITS  OF  CLANS 


[CH. 


old  idea  that  the  totem  had  to  be  guarded  by  a  particular 
family,  because  it  was  a  kind  of  food  needing  the  protection 
and  care  of  that  family.  Whatever  the  origin  may  have  been, 
the  social  benefits  were  great,  for  not  only  were  the  marriage 
relations  regulated  by  means  of  the  totemic  beliefs,  but  the 
numerous  calls  made  by  a  member  of  a  family  upon  others 
who  bore  the  same  totems,  the  financial  help,  the  sympathetic 
assistance  in  sickness,  and  the  communal  rites  were  a  great 
boon  to  the  family.  Claims  for  protection,  for  resisting  un- 
just oppression  or  robbery,  and  especially  punishment  for 
murder,  were  enforced  by  the  clan.  Again  the  funeral  ob- 
sequies and  subsequent  rites  for  the  welfare  of  ghosts  fell 
to  the  care  of  the  clan  in  general,  though  the  details  belonged 
to  the  relatives  more  immediately  concerned.  Totemic  rules 
bound  the  members  together,  and  made  the  clan  a  family 
with  rights  and  ties  common  to  all.  The  possession  of  the 
totems  showed  who  were  the  members  of  the  clan;  and  the 
fear  of  the  clan  ghosts  caused  the  members  to  obey  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  clan.  The  gods  whose  anger  they 
feared,  for  any  irregularity  in  the  clan,  were  not  the  national 
gods,  but  the  clan  gods. 

Women  at  marriage  moved  from  the  surroundings  of  their 
own  clan  and  entered  the  clan  of  their  husband;  they  were 
guarded  and  nursed  previous  to  their  confinement  and  for 
some  time  afterwards  in  the  enclosures  of  their  husband 
by  females  of  his  clan,  whom  he  called  sisters  or  mothers. 
The  relationship  of  cousin  is  unknown;  hence  when  a  father's 
sister  marries  and  has  children,  they  are  reckoned  as  of 
another  clan,  and  in  the  second  generation  come  within  the 
permitted  degrees  of  marriage. 

Communism  is  still  at  work,  both  in  regard  to  property, 
and  also  in  the  case  of  offspring.  Children  are  the  property 
of  the  clan,  and  until  quite  recently  it  was  the  custom  to 
remove  children  when  weaned  from  their  parents,  and  to 
place  them  with  a  member  of  the  clan,  who  was  responsible 
for  them,  not  indeed  to  the  parents,  but  to  the  clan.  It  is 
doubtless  due  to  this  custom  that  a  woman's  eldest  brother 


x]  CHILDREN  NEVER  ORPHANED  165 


and  her  uncle  (father's  brother)  are  the  persons  who  on  behalf 
of  the  clan  arrange  all  her  matrimonial  affairs;  these  two 
men  may  act  independently  of  her  parents,  if  they  wish 
to  do  so.  Again,  after  death  the  property  of  the  deceased  is 
divided  by  the  members  of  the  clan,  and  is  not  necessarily 
given  to  his  children;  the  elder  of  the  clan  seeks  out  the 
most  suitable  member  of  the  clan  for  inheriting  the  property. 
Children  are  never  orphaned  in  our  sense  of  the  term;  they 
are  never  homeless,  nor  are  they  left  without  a  guardian. 
It  often  happens  that  the  death  of  a  parent  makes  little 
difference  to  a  child  in  regard  to  its  surroundings,  if  it  has 
been  weaned,  while  the  death  of  the  man  whom  we  should 
call  its  uncle,  but  whom  the  child  calls  father,  and  with  whom 
it  lives,  entails  greater  changes,  such  as  being  moved  to  some 
other  home. 

According  to  an'  old  custom,  the  members  of  a  woman's 
clan  have  the  right  to  every  third  child  to  which  she  gives 
birth,  and  claim  it;  it  is  held  by  them  as  a  slave,  unless  it  is 
redeemed  by  the  father  or  some  other  member  of  his  clan. 
The  custom  has  already  been  mentioned  which  compels  a 
man  to  take  as  his  second  wife  a  woman  from  the  clan  of 
his  father's  mother,  and  that  she  stands  to  him  in  the 
relationship  of  grandmother;  this  does  not  mean  that  the 
woman  must  necessarily  be  an  elderly  person;  she  may  be, 
and  usually  is,  a  girl,  but  she  claims  by  clan  relationship  to 
be  mother  to  her  husband's  father.  The  duties  of  this  second 
wife  are  to  shave  her  husband's  head  and  cut  his  nails,  and  to 
take  care  that  the  clippings  do  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  an 
enemy  who  might  use  them  for  magical  purposes. 

In  the  households  of  important  chiefs  with  large  harems 
there  were  often  men  and  women  who  found  opportunities 
to  meet  and  to  become  enamoured  of  each  other;  it  was 
therefore  customary  to  keep  a  strict  guard  over  the  wives, 
and,  as  each  wife  had  her  own  hut,  to  enclose  these  huts 
in  strongly  fenced  compounds.  The  care  thus  taken  greatly 
reduced  the  number  of  cases  of  adultery,  while  the  severe 
punishment  meted  out  to  any  couple  found  guilty  caused 


i66 


IDEAS  OF  MORALITY 


[CH. 


both  men  and  women  to  restrain  their  passions.  If  a  man 
became  enamoured  of  any  woman  and  wished  to  visit  her, 
he  generally  preferred  to  do  so  by  night,  reaching  the  house 
by  some  cunning  device,  sometimes  by  scaling  the  fences,  at 
other  times  by  crawling  along  the  water  gutters  under  the 
fences.  He  went  armed,  and  if  he  was  disturbed  when  in  the 
house,  he  took  the  offensive  and  speared  down  any  man 
who  entered  where  he  was.  A  man  who  thus  visited  a 
married  woman's  house  was  not  called  an  adulterer,  but  a 
murderer;  in  like  manner  an  unfaithful  wife  was  called  a 
murderess.  In  the  case  of  the  man  the  term  was  used, 
because  he  was  ready  to  kill  the  husband  if  he  appeared  on 
the  scene,  and  in  the  case  of  the  woman,  because  by  her 
conduct  she  alienated  the  gods  from  her  husband,  and  exposed 
him  to  every  misfortune,  in  addition  to  bringing  in  a  man  who 
might  possibly  attack  and  kill  him.  Death,  with  tortures  of 
a  terrible  nature,  was  the  punishment  exacted  upon  the  guilty 
parties  when  they  were  discovered. 

Until  the  reign  of  Mwanga  it  was  the  custom  for  one  or 
two  of  his  wives  to  accompany  the  king  into  court,  and 
frequently  several  princesses  also  sat  behind  him.  These  ladies 
had  special  duties  assigned  to  them,  for  they  were  present 
as  the  particular  guards  of  their  lord;  one  held  his  shield, 
another  had  charge  of  his  spears,  others  had  his  drinking 
cups  and  wine,  but  one  and  all  had  to  keep  special  watch 
over  the  crowds  of  men  in  court,  to  see  that  no  attempt  was 
made  upon  his  life.  They  were  ready  to  warn  him  and  to  help 
him,  should  he  need  assistance.  In  like  manner  a  chief  in  his 
own  household  with  his  daily  assemblage  of  friends  or  ser- 
vants imitated  the  court  fashion,  and  had  his  wives  to  sit 
by  him.  These  ladies  were  the  cause  of  constant  trouble  to 
menservants,  for,  when  a  wife  spoke  to  them,  they  would 
glance  at  her  and  so  rouse  jealous  suspicions  in  the  hus- 
band's heart,  with  the  result  that  he  often  had  the  men 
mutilated.  When  a  man  came  to  speak  with  his  master,  he 
knelt  down  in  front  of  him,  to  tell  him  his  business  or  to 
receive  orders;  if,  during  this  time,  he  allowed  his  eyes  to 


x] 


ROYAL  DESCENT 


167 


wander  towards  these  ladies,  he  would  be  accused  of  unchaste 
motives,  and  would  have  his  eyes  gouged  out  for  this  careless 
behaviour.  Protests  of  innocence  were  in  vain  under  such  a 
charge;  the  chief  was  too  powerful  to  be  resisted,  and  the 
minions  of  the  powerful  lord  were  all  too  ready  to  carry  out 
any  such  command;  hence  the  words  of  the  servant  were  of 
little  avail. 

We  may  here  conveniently  introduce  the  subject  of  the 
royal  descent.  It  was  stated  above  that  royalty  did  not 
adhere  to  the  custom  followed  by  the  ordinary  people  of 
taking  the  totems  of  their  father.  This  statement  needs 
further  explanation,  because  on  the  one  hand  the  royal 
totems,  the  lion  and  leopard,  were  widely  used,  and  these 
were  transmitted  from  the  king's  father,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  every  prince  or  princess  was  known  among  the  people 
by  his  or  her  mother's  totems.  A  few  clans  were  prohibited 
from  giving  their  daughters  in  marriage  to  the  king ;  if  any 
woman  from  such  a  clan  was  taken  by  the  king  in  marriage 
(and  sometimes  he  used  his  kingly  power  to  marry  such  a 
woman),  any  child  whom  she  might  have  was  strangled  at 
birth,  or  possibly  the  woman  might  say  that  she  belonged  to 
another  clan.  Apart  from  these  few  prohibited  clans,  all  clans 
frequently  gave  wives  to  the  king,  and  were  glad  to  send 
their  daughters  to  the  royal  residence,  hoping  that  they  would 
become  mothers,  and  that  their  son  might  be  the  future  king, 
and  thus  be  able  to  help  the  clan  in  material  things.  The 
official  marriage  of  the  king  took  place  at  his  accession;  he 
might  indeed  have  several  wives  before  this  time,  all  of  whom 
would  be  women  from  the  clans,  that  is  to  say  commoners; 
but  the  official  wife  had  to  be  a  daughter  of  the  king's  father. 
In  other  words  the  queen  had  to  be  a  princess,  and  if  possible 
a  daughter  of  the  king's  father  by  a  different  mother,  that  is 
his  half  sister.  The  queen  was  not  expected  to  have  children, 
though  she  sometimes  became  a  mother.  She  had  her  own 
residence  built  at  a  short  distance  from  the  royal  enclosure, 
and  separated  from  it  by  a  running  stream.  She  also  held  the 
same  title  as  her  husband,  that  of  Kabaka,  which  is  commonly 


i68 


THE  KING'S  HAREM 


[CH. 


translated  "king,"  but  is  really  a  word  of  neuter  gender,  and 
is  applied  to  the  king,  the  queen,  the  dowager  queen,  and 
the  king's  mother,  the  last  named  woman  being  a  commoner 
who  is  raised  to  the  position  of  Kabaka  when  her  son  be- 
comes king.  This  word  Kabaka  is  often  used  by  peasants 
when  speaking  of  any  person  who  is  freed  from  state  labour 
and  taxation,  and  a  man  of  whom  we  should  say  that  he  was 
given  the  freedom  of  a  city  becomes  a  Kabaka. 

The  king  might  take  any  of  his  sisters  into  his  harem  in 
addition  to  the  queen,  but  in  their  cases  there  were  no 
marriage  ceremonies;  they  came,  as  did  other  women,  by 
mutual  agreement  to  be  his  wives.  All  other  princesses  were 
forbidden  by  law  to  marry  or  to  have  children,  and  the  penalty 
of  death  was  inflicted  for  any  transgression.  This  prohibition 
of  marriage  to  princesses  led  to  gross  immorality,  and  prin- 
cesses were  commonly  regarded  as  the  most  immoral  class  of 
women  in  the  country,  a  belief  which  had  good  ground  for 
its  universal  acceptance.  The  young  women  from  the  various 
clans  who  were  taken  by  the  king  as  wives  were  treated  with 
great  respect  by  the  whole  community,  and  when  one  of  them 
became  a  mother  the  event  added  to  her  dignity,  her  clan 
members  being  particularly  proud  thereof.  Most  of  these 
ladies  had  titles  given  to  them  by  the  king,  and  were  placed 
in  good  houses  of  their  own,  with  maids  and  slaves  to  wait 
upon  them.  There  were  three  of  these  women  who  were  held 
in  special  honour,  the  chief  of  them  being  the  wife  who  had 
charge  of  the  fetishes  and  other  religious  emblems;  she  was 
known  as  the  "little  slave  of  the  god,"  Kadulubare.  The 
other  two  women  were  Nasaza,  whom  we  might  call  "hair- 
dresser," and  Kabeja,  "little  princess."  This  latter  wife  was 
always  a  favourite;  she  was  chosen  for  her  good  looks  and 
general  bearing;  but  the  difficulty  of  her  position  was  that 
she  was  liable  to  be  displaced,  if  she  offended  her  lord  in 
any  trifling  matter.  The  wife  Nasaza  was  always  chosen  from 
the  clan  of  the  king's  father's  mother,  and  was  a  woman  to 
whom  he  gave  the  name  grandmother,  as  was  frequently 
done  by  the  common  people.  The  son  of  any  woman  whom 


X]        PREDOMINANCE  OF  FEMALE  BIRTHS  169 


the  king  married  was  eligible  for  the  throne,  unless  she 
belonged  to  one  of  the  prohibited  clans. 

According  to  the  most  reliable  information  obtainable, 
the  females  outnumbered  the  males;  the  birth-rate  is  said  to 
have  been  two  females  to  one  male.  In  addition  to  this 
difference  in  the  birth-rate,  men  had  a  much  harder  life  than 
women,  and  they  ran  many  more  risks  of  death,  both  from 
warfare,  and  also  from  being  captured  as  victims  for  sacrificial 
purposes,  though  this  latter  risk  was  not  limited  to  men,  but 
affected  women  also.  Women  were  thus  left  in  the  majority, 
and  polygamy  seemed  to  be  the  only  means  of  providing 
them  with  husbands,  and  the  only  safeguard  against  pro- 
miscuous sexual  habits.  For  the  common  necessaries  of  life 
a  woman  did  not  require  a  man  to  provide  for  her,  on  the 
contrary  a  woman  provided  food  for  the  males  of  a  house ; 
one  woman,  with  an  ordinary  garden  of  plantains,  could  in 
olden  times  provide  food  for  three  men  without  undue  exer- 
tion. When  Christianity  introduced  monogamy  and  broke 
down  the  old  social  customs,  hundreds  of  women  were 
rendered  husbandless,  without  the  former  rigid  restrictions 
to  protect  them  against  their  sexual  desires;  and  when  the 
new  hut  taxes  imposed  by  the  British  Government  made  it 
impossible  for  chiefs  to  provide  homes  for  their  clan  relatives, 
hundreds  of  women  were  left  to  face  the  problems  of  life 
without  any  special  guardian.  This  freedom  of  women  led  to 
terrible  immorality,  and  up  to  the  present  no  solution  has 
been  found  to  heal  the  dreadful  sore,  though  various  remedies 
are  being  tried.  On  the  other  hand  the  conditions  of  married 
life  are  better,  because  under  the  new  customs  a  wife  holds 
a  more  honoured  position  in  the  home  than  formerly,  and 
further  the  birth-rate  of  children,  the  offspring  of  married 
women,  has  increased,  while  the  proportion  of  males  and 
females  among  the  infants,  we  are  assured,  is  becoming 
equalised.  Not  only  is  this  so,  but  with  the  more  enlightened 
methods,  and  the  care  given  at  the  mission  hospitals  during 
the  "lying-in"  periods,  the  death-rate  of  infants  has  been 
greatly  reduced. 


170 


SOCIAL  DIFFICULTIES 


[CH. 


A  dreadful  evil  has  entered  the  country  in  the  form  of 
venereal  disease,  brought  by  a  low  class  of  Indian  traders 
and  shopkeepers  who,  having  left  their  wives  behind,  or  it 
may  be  having  never  been  married,  have  taken  Baganda 
women  as  wives  during  their  stay  in  Uganda.  These  men 
have  passed  the  sickness  on  to  the  women  whom  they  induced 
to  live  with  them,  and  the  latter  have  spread  it  with  terrible 
results;  the  disease  is  working  great  havoc  and  undermining 
the  constitution  of  the  natives.  Another  evil  which  appeared 
with  the  decline  of  the  old  customs,  has  been  that  of  the 
cessation  of  cultivation  of  large  areas  of  country.  Every 
woman  had,  under  the  old  regime,  a  plot  of  land  assigned 
to  her  at  marriage,  which  she  diligently  worked  for  her 
husband,  and  which  she  looked  upon  as  her  own  in  right  of 
her  marriage;  she  would  not  appeal  to  her  husband  for  help 
in  cultivating  this  plot,  but  would  leave  him  free  to  carry 
out  his  own  duties  for  the  state,  such  as  building  in  the  royal 
enclosure,  road-making,  and  fighting  in  the  frequent  wars  of 
the  country.  Tilling  the  land  was  considered  to  be  woman's 
work  and  unsuitable  for  a  man,  especially  the  management 
of  the  plantain  plot.  When  women  ceased  to  live  in  com- 
munities as  the  wives  of  chiefs  or  other  free  men,  or  as 
dependents  upon  rich  relatives,  they  also  ceased  to  till  the 
land;  thus  large  tracts  of  country  which  had  been  under 
cultivation  ran  wild;  while  the  women  gave  themselves  up 
to  idleness  and  the  gratification  of  their  worst  passions. 

In  the  early  years  of  Christian  missions,  no  special  study 
had  been  made  of  the  native  customs,  and  little  was  known 
of  the  inner  native  life,  hence  no  missionary  thought  that  any 
serious  evil  would  result  from  enforcing  monogamy  upon  a 
pagan  nation  which  had  practised  polygamy.  The  numerous 
social  difficulties,  also  the  physical  condition  of  the  women, 
and  the  paramount  desire  of  a  woman  to  become  a  mother, 
were  elements  not  considered  by  the  missionaries.  They 
realised  that  a  woman  need  not  be  destitute  because  she 
remained  unmarried,  but  this  was  only  one  factor  among 
many  which  should  have  been  carefully  considered  before 


X]    PROBLEMS  FOR  CHRISTIANITY  TO  SOLVE  171 


the  old  customs  were  cast  aside.  It  is  quite  certain  that, 
could  it  have  been  foreseen  what  the  results  of  the  policy 
adopted  would  be,  the  missionaries  would  have  hesitated, 
and  have  sought  some  other  method  for  bringing  about  the 
necessary  reforms.  The  Christian  Church  has  to  face  a  difficult 
problem  to-day,  namely  to  lead  the  remnant  of  the  nation 
from  the  morass  of  evil  to  the  sure  ground  of  purity  and 
progress;  yet  there  is  every  reason  for  thinking  that  all  will 
come  right  in  time.  The  Baganda  are  good  material  to  work 
upon,  and  much  may  be  expected  from  such  a  nation,  though 
the  difficulties  to  be  faced  are  enormous,  and  call  for  the 
wisest  leaders  and  men  with  dauntless  courage. 

It  is  from  material  such  as  has  been  described  above  that 
some  of  the  most  devoted  workers  in  modern  days  have 
been  found  for  the  work  of  native  missionaries ;  men  whose 
ancestors  for  generations  have  been  ready  to  die  for  what 
they  considered  the  good  of  their  country,  and  have  never 
hesitated  to  give  themselves  over  even  to  horrible  forms  of 
death  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  their  nation.  So  far 
as  the  youths  of  the  land  have  been  tested  educationally,  they 
have  shown  abilities  equal  to  those  of  English  schoolboys, 
while  in  learning  trades  or  other  ordinary  callings  in  life  they 
have  been  quite  equal  to  the  average  man.  In  their  religious 
principles  they  have  proved  themselves  to  be  superior  to 
others;  their  willingness  to  undertake  a  long  and  wearisome 
sojourn  among  people  of  other  tongues  and  different  customs, 
with  little  or  no  provision  made  for  them,  and  without  sup- 
port from  their  base,  to  live  with  men  of  decidedly  inferior 
abilities,  and  to  give  up  home  and  country,  prove  the  genuine- 
ness of  their  Christian  profession.  Further,  they  have  risked 
their  lives  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  many  of  them  have 
died  owing  to  their  dauntless  courage  in  trying  to  help  their 
fellow  men  who  were  suffering  from  one  of  the  terrible  con- 
tagious diseases  which  have  swept  over  the  country,  such  as 
sleeping  sickness.  They  have  accepted  trying  conditions  in 
order  to  help  those  who  a  few  years  ago  would  not  have  called 
forth  their  sympathy,  because  not  of  their  own  tribal  clan. 


172 


EFFECTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY 


[CH. 


But  it  is  not  only  these  men  who  have  made  it  their  life's 
work  to  serve  their  country  as  teachers  whom  we  must  credit 
with  the  wonderful  progress  and  development  of  Uganda; 
we  must  also  think  of  hundreds  of  chiefs  of  sterling  quality, 
who  have  worked  together  nobly  for  the  good  of  their  fellow 
men  and  their  country.  Conspicuous  among  these  Sir  Apolo 
Kagwa,  the  prime  minister,  stands  out  as  a  leader,  not  only 
in  religious  matters,  but  also  in  civil  and  political  life;  he 
has  been  a  wise  guide  and  faithful  leader  in  everything  that 
would  lead  to  progressive  development.  He  has  ever  been 
ready  to  take  an  active  share  even  in  menial  work  that 
would  be  for  the  good  of  the  country;  after  hours  spent  in 
court  with  the  consideration  of  complicated  questions  of 
government,  he  would  be  found  writing  the  minutes  of 
meetings  with  the  results  of  their  discussions,  or  possibly 
building  a  house,  making  a  staircase,  or  fashioning  windows 
and  doors.  He  was  also  able  to  fit  his  house  with  electric 
bells,  he  learnt  to  ride  a  bicycle,  and  he  introduced  habits 
of  progress  and  comfort  into  the  small  matters  of  daily  life, 
while  during  business  hours  in  court  he  was  introducing  en- 
lightened measures  for  governing  the  country,  under  the 
guidance  of  British  officers.  In  more  recent  years  he  has 
obtained  a  printing  press,  and  has  issued  various  booklets, 
giving  the  history  of  the  country,  with  many  valuable  details 
concerning  former  kings  and  clans  with  their  peculiarities, 
together  with  other  useful  information  In  addition  to  these 
booklets  he  has  published  official  pamphlets  and  papers  for 
the  guidance  of  chiefs  and  other  persons  in  authority  who  in 
the  heart  of  the  country  may  be  cut  off  from  the  help  and 
guidance  of  the  British  officials.  From  the  same  press  sug- 
gestions on  cotton  growing,  rubber  cultivation,  the  treatment 
of  cattle  diseases,  and  so  forth,  have  gone  into  every  district, 
written  by  Sir  Apolo  from  information  supplied  by  the 
Government  authorities,  or  drawn  up  under  his  supervision, 
and  sent  by  him  to  every  chief  who  could  help  the  people  to 
carry  out  these  instructions.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  these  labours 
he  has  ever  been  studying  new  ideas  for  his  personal  improve- 


x] 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS 


173 


ment,  has  collected  information  about  his  own  people  and 
his  ancestors,  and  has  found  leisure  to  show  attentions  to 
travellers  and  friends,  and  not  least  to  attend  to  family 
worship,  Bible  study,  and  religious  services. 

Sir  Apolo  was  in  England  for  the  coronation  of  King 
Edward  VII,  and  was  the  worthy  recipient  of  knighthood, 
an  honour  which  both  he  and  his  people  value  highly.  For 
years  this  valued  friend  placed  a  room  in  his  house  at  my 
disposal,  where  every  evening  I  could  meet  old  people  who 
were  best  able  to  impart  knowledge  of  the  past,  and  to  give 
me  information  concerning  the  secrets  of  primitive  worship 
which  they  would  not  have  divulged  under  other  circum- 
stances. While  Sir  Apolo  deservedly  stands  at  the  head  of  his 
nation,  he  is  wisely  and  ably  supported  by  a  large  number  of 
capable  men,  whose  lives  will  bear  the  closest  inspection,  and 
who  will  become  more  illustrious  the  better  they  are  known. 

One  of  the  greatest  boons  to  Uganda  has  been  the  native 
hospital,  so  efficiently  managed  by  the  brothers  Drs.  A.  R.  and 
J.  H.  Cook;  by  their  zeal  and  personal  efforts  a  building  with 
eighty-five  beds  for  natives  suffering  from  general  diseases, 
and  a  building  with  thirty-nine  beds  for  sufferers  from  con- 
tagious diseases,  also  a  block  for  Indians  with  twelve  beds, 
and  another  for  Europeans  with  ten  beds,  have  been  raised. 
The  beds  in  these  blocks  of  buildings  are  constantly  full,  and 
it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  hundreds  of  lives  are  saved 
yearly  by  the  skill  of  these  indefatigable  men  and  their  staff. 
The  amount  of  suffering  that  has  been  relieved  by  these  de- 
voted men  has  been  immense,  while  most  difficult  operations 
have  been  skilfully  carried  out  by  them,  and  scientific  in- 
formation, the  result  of  their  research  work,  has  been  given 
to  the  medical  world.  In  addition  to  the  hospital  there  is  a 
large  dispensary,  where  some  two  hundred  patients  daily 
seek  and  receive  assistance.  This  new  and  useful  dispensary 
was  built  through  the  munificence  of  Mr  Wellcome  (of  Messrs 
Burroughs  and  Wellcome),  who  is  doing  so  much  for  Africa. 
It  is  not  only  doing  wonderful  things  for  suffering  humanity, 
but  is  also  undertaking  the  most  painstaking  research  work 


174         FEAR  OF  SURGICAL  OPERATIONS  [ch. 


in  tropical  diseases,  so  that  medical  science  throughout  the 
world  is  being  benefited.  Yet  with  all  this  work  so 
methodically  carried  on,  the  spiritual  side  is  never  over- 
looked, but  is  always  first;  the  medical  staff  is  pre-eminently 
a  missionary  staff. 

The  reputation  of  these  men  has  deservedly  spread  far 
and  wide;  the  fear  and  superstitious  dread  of  the  natives 
have  been  broken  down,  and  now  men  and  women  are  brought 
long  distances  in  search  of  treatment.  The  one  great  need 
is  workers  who  might  set  the  leaders  free  to  train  the  natives 
for  the  profession.  It  is  only  a  few  years  since  amputations 
have  become  possible,  for  the  native  idea  was  that  the  loss  of 
a  limb  involved  a  similar  loss  to  the  ghost,  and  that  such 
mutilation  debarred  the  ghost  from  joining  its  clan  members. 
This  belief  made  more  terrible  the  frequently  inflicted 
punishment  of  mutilation  for  various  offences,  such  as  theft 
and  adultery.  The  person  whose  hand  was  hacked  off  was 
known  as  a  thief,  the  person  whose  eye  was  gouged  out  was 
known  as  an  adulterer,  while  the  loss  of  an  ear  was  the 
mark  of  stubborn  disobedience.  These  marks  gave  the  un- 
fortunate person  pain  and  inconvenience  in  this  life,  cutting 
him  off  from  all  chance  of  promotion  and  degrading  him  to 
a  low  social  position,  while  in  the  next  world  his  ghost  was 
expelled  from  the  society  of  his  relatives.  These  beliefs 
hindered  surgical  work,  because  men  preferred  to  die  with  a 
limb  intact  rather  than  to  live  without  it;  and  patience, 
sympathy,  and  Christian  perseverance,  were  necessary  to 
overcome  such  prejudice  and  superstition. 

We  now  pass  to  the  second  rising  of  the  Sudanese  which 
had  far  more  serious  consequences  than  the  first,  in  that  it 
not  only  resulted  in  greater  loss  of  native  life,  but  also  in  the 
loss  of  a  number  of  Englishmen.  This  rising  also  took  place 
owing  to  the  discontented  spirit  of  the  Sudanese  troops,  who 
had  gradually  returned  to  their  old  position  as  government 
troops,  after  having  been  degraded  for  some  time.  My  own 
part  in  this  rising  was  but  small,  as  I  only  returned  to  the 
country  towards  the  end  of  the  trouble,  having  been  on 


x] 


SECOND  SUDANESE  RISING 


175 


furlough  in  England,  and  I  was  journeying  up  country  when 
the  fighting  was  at  its  height.  On  our  arrival  at  Mombasa 
the  report  reached  us  that  there  was  a  rising  in  Uganda; 
with  difficulty  a  few  porters  were  secured  for  the  small  party 
which  accompanied  me,  and  we  left  hurriedly  for  the  interior, 
before  orders  were  issued  to  stop  travellers  from  proceeding 
up  country.  The  route  we  were  to  take  was  through  the 
country  occupied  by  the  Masai,  commonly  known  as  the 
northern  route,  through  which  the  railway  now  runs.  Only 
one  or  two  incidents  worthy  of  note  happened  during  the 
journey,  and  these  showed  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country. 
The  first  incident  occurred  when  we  were  near  Kavirondo; 
here  we  came  upon  a  tribe  in  arms,  but,  after  we  had  seen 
the  chief  and  administered  a  little  medicine  to  him  and 
dressed  a  bad  ulcer  on  his  leg,  he  not  only  gave  us  liberty  to 
pass  through  his  country,  but  also  supplied  all  our  needs, 
giving  us  food,  fire- wood,  and  water;  and  his  enmity  against 
the  British  was  removed,  and  goodwill  restored.  The  second 
trouble  came  when  we  reached  the  British  fort  in  Kavirondo, 
where  all  our  porters  were  pressed  into  the  service  of  the 
troops  for  the  assistance  of  transport  into  Busoga.  We,  how- 
ever, were  taken  down  to  Lake  Victoria,  and  left  stranded  on 
the  shore  in  a  deserted  fort,  to  try  to  secure  canoes  or  other 
means  for  reaching  Uganda.  The  place  was  new  to  me,  and 
I  found  that  none  of  the  tribes  near  us  possessed  canoes,  nor 
would  they  act  as  porters;  to  add  to  our  trouble,  we  dis- 
covered that  our  barter  goods  were  not  acceptable  to  these 
people.  Fortunately  for  us,  after  a  few  days  a  small  steamer 
came  from  Uganda,  bringing  a  sick  missionary  and  his  wife, 
who  were  going  down  country;  so  we  gladly  availed  ourselves 
of  the  opportunity  of  a  passage  in  the  steamer  to  cross  to 
Uganda.  We  thus  reached  the  capital,  Mengo,  in  less  time 
than  we  should  have  taken,  had  we  travelled  round  the  lake 
on  foot  with  our  original  party  and  experienced  no  delay. 

In  this  Sudanese  rebellion  the  Baganda  lost  heavily.  On 
one  occasion  they  tried  to  rush  a  fort  in  Busoga,  in  which 
the  rebels  were  lodged.  The  Sudanese  who  possessed  a  Maxim 


176 


EFFECTS  OF  WAR 


[CH. 


gun  waited  until  the  Baganda  were  within  short  range,  when 
they  opened  fire,  and  mowed  down  some  hundreds  of  these 
brave  warriors  before  any  could  escape.  The  British  suffered 
terribly  from  the  want  of  ammunition  and  arms,  as  the  rebels 
had  secured  a  large  part  of  the  supplies  before  they  mutinied. 
My  friend  and  co-worker,  G.  L.  Pilkington,  famous  for  his 
linguistic  abilities  and  for  his  translation  of  the  Bible  into 
Luganda,  fell  in  this  rising;  he  was  acting  as  an  interpreter 
and  helping  the  forces  generally.  The  brother  of  Macdonald 
also  fell  on  the  same  day,  almost  at  the  same  hour;  both 
these  men  lie  side  by  side  in  the  cathedral  ground  at 
Namirembe,  whither  their  bodies  were  brought  some  time 
after  the  rising  was  quelled.  It  was  during  this  Sudanese 
rebellion  that  Mwanga,  the  king  of  Uganda,  fled  and  joined 
the  rebels  in  the  district  of  Budu  in  southern  Uganda;  here 
the  rebels  consisted  mainly  of  Baganda  who  wished  to  throw 
off  the  restraints  of  the  British  Government  and  join  the 
Sudanese.  For  several  months  this  part  of  the  country  had 
been  known  to  be  unsettled,  before  the  Sudanese  rose.  But 
this  disturbance  could  not  be  dealt  with  efficiently  owing  to 
the  greater  rebellion,  and  measures  had  to  be  delayed  until 
the  Sudanese  rising  had  been  suppressed.  At  length  the  rebel 
troops  were  overcome,  and  the  Baganda  forces  were  free  to 
deal  with  their  own  countrymen. 

Under  the  leadership  of  two  or  three  British  officers,  the 
natives  then  began  to  attack  Mwanga  and  his  followers,  who 
had  by  this  time  joined  Kabarega,  the  rebel  king  of  Bunyoro 
in  the  Nile  region.  There  was  no  serious  fighting  between 
these  two  kings  and  the  loyal  Baganda;  it  was  rather  a 
series  of  skirmishes,  by  means  of  which  the  supporters  of  the 
kings  endeavoured  to  keep  back  the  loyal  troops  when  they 
had  discovered  the  hiding  places  of  the  fugitives,  until  the 
kings  could  escape  to  some  further  place  of  safety.  At  length 
the  rebel  kings  were  brought  to  a  stand,  and  were  no 
longer  able  to  escape,  their  place  of  hiding  having  been 
made  known  by  some  of  their  followers  who  turned  traitors. 
In  a  battle  which  followed  the  king  of  Bunyoro  fought 


x] 


NATIVE  EVANGELISTS 


177 


bravely,  until  one  of  his  arms  was  shot  through  and  so 
shattered  that  he  could  no  longer  hold  his  gun;  afterwards 
the  arm  had  to  be  amputated.  Both  the  kings  were  captured 
and  taken  to  Mengo,  and  from  thence  were  exiled  to  the 
Seychelles.  Mwanga  died  there,  but  Kabarega  is  still  living  on 
these  islands.  He  is  now  a  Christian,  having  been  taught  by 
some  of  his  people  who  went  to  minister  to  him  in  exile. 

At  the  time  of  Mwanga's  flight  one  of  his  wives,  who  was 
left  behind,  gave  birth  to  a  son,  and  this  child  lived ;  he  was 
the  first  child  of  Mwanga  who  lived  for  more  than  a  few 
hours.  Another  wife  of  Mwanga  gave  birth  to  a  son  later 
on,  and  this  child  is  also  living.  These  two  sons  of  Mwanga 
are  now  grown  up,  the  eldest  having  been  elected  by  the 
Government  as  king.  The  chiefs,  Sir  Apolo  Kagwa,  Zakiriya 
Kisingire,  and  Silasi  Mugwanya,  were  appointed  regents  to 
administer  the  country  during  the  king's  minority  under  the 
supervision  of  the  British  Government.  Daudi  Chwa,  the 
prince  chosen  by  the  British  Government  as  king,  has  been 
educated  by  an  English  tutor  appointed  by  the  Government. 
In  Bunyoro  a  grown-up  son  of  Kabarega  was  appointed  to 
succeed  his  father,  but  he  soon  showed  that  he  was  not  a  fit 
person  to  rule;  he  was  therefore  deposed,  and  another  son 
was  placed  on  the  throne  who  still  reigns.  It  was  during  these 
troublous  times  that  the  natives  of  Uganda  began  to  show 
that  they  were  really  anxious  not  only  to  advance  their  own 
countrymen  in  religious  and  secular  knowledge,  but  also  to 
carry  Christianity  into  other  countries  where  previously  they 
had  never  been  except  to  fight,  plunder,  and  raid  the  people. 
The  few  men  chosen  to  begin  the  work  of  evangelists  had  a 
very  uphill  task,  because  the  people  to  whom  they  went  only 
knew  the  Baganda  as  their  old  foes,  and  naturally  distrusted 
them;  and  they  also  put  every  possible  obstacle  in  their  way, 
firmly  believing  that  their  real  object  was  to  obtain  informa- 
tion and  to  betray  them  to  their  enemies.  They  would  have 
killed  them,  but  they  feared  to  do  so  under  the  new  regime ; 
they  refused,  however,  to  house  them,  they  tried  to  starve 
them,  and  they  boycotted  them ;  yet  all  in  vain :  the  teachers 


R.U. 


12 


178 


EDUCATIONAL  WORK 


[CH.  X 


remained  and  slowly  won  their  way  and  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  people.  This  work  of  evangelisation  is  still  going 
forward,  the  number  of  workers  having  grown  from  a  few 
men  into  thousands.  In  addition  to  the  evangelists  there  are 
secular  schools  with  masters,  all  of  whom  are  supported  by 
the  native  church  independently  of  European  help.  Mis- 
sionaries are  lent  to  them  for  special  duties  of  supervision 
or  education.  The  elementary  schools  are  at  work  in  the 
country  districts,  while  in  the  capital  there  is  an  excellent 
secondary  school  which  has  done  much  to  give  better  class 
boys  a  more  thorough  education.  More  recently  a  still  higher 
school  for  boys  has  been  opened,  and  is  conducted  on  the 
principles  of  an  English  Public  School.  There  is  a  great  future 
before  this  institution,  which  has  already  proved  itself  useful 
to  the  Government  in  supplying  interpreters,  clerks,  and 
other  trustworthy  servants,  besides  having  educated  the 
numbers  of  young  chiefs  and  secretaries  to  chiefs.  The  girls 
of  the  country  are  also  being  cared  for,  and  have  a  High 
School,  where  they  are  taught,  not  only  to  become  efficient 
wives,  able  to  assist  their  husbands  and  to  take  their  place 
as  educated  women  in  a  family,  but  also  to  know  useful 
domestic  arts,  such  as  cooking,  housekeeping,  and  needle 
work,  while  they  are  also  kept  in  touch  with  their  old  work 
of  cultivation.  In  time  past  women  were  never  expected  to 
use  a  needle  or  to  know  how  to  make  any  garment;  their 
work  was  to  cultivate,  to  cook  in  a  rude  way,  and  occasion- 
ally to  sweep  out  the  house  and  recarpet  it  with  sweet-scented 
grass.  It  was  the  work  of  the  men  to  prepare  bark-cloth,  and 
to  stitch  the  pieces  together  for  a  woman's  mantle.  When 
calico  and  cotton  goods  were  introduced,  the  men  still  made 
the  garments  at  first,  and  the  only  new  occupation  which 
women  learnt  was  mat-making  and  some  new  kinds  of 
basketry.  Some  of  the  old  baskets  were  of  fine  texture, 
neatly  woven  with  coloured  strands,  which  were  worked 
into  artistic  patterns. 


CHAPTER  XI 


NATIVE  GOVERNMENT— REDISTRIBUTION  OF  LAND 

IN  the  last  chapter  we  noticed  some  of  the  unfortunate 
effects  which  were  caused  by  the  changes  in  social  insti- 
tutions; the  sudden  change  from  a  polygamous  to  a  mono- 
gamous life  had  not  been  sufficiently  thought  out,  nor  had 
adequate  provision  been  made  to  meet  the  break-down  of 
the  old  laws,  which  restrained  society  by  fear  ensuring  moral 
conduct.  Women,  for  example,  were  not  strong  enough  in 
the  faith  of  their  new  religion  to  resist  sensual  desires;  they 
were  not  prepared  to  live  pure  and  upright  lives  without  the 
support  of  the  strong  arm  of  primitive  custom  and  law,  or 
the  fear  of  the  husband  whom  they  had  lost,  and  since  no 
other  provision  had  been  made  for  them,  they  fell  away  into 
unchaste  habits.  When  they  were  liberated  from  the  old  status 
of  drudgery  and  slavery  of  a  heathen  wife,  and  an  attempt 
was  made  to  raise  them  to  a  higher  level  as  wives  of  Christian 
men,  in  accordance  with  Christian  ideas,  they  took  unfair 
advantage  of  their  freedom.  In  some  cases  a  wife  became  a 
burden  and  a  source  of  worry  to  her  husband,  and  instead 
of  being  a  help  to  him,  she  became  extravagant  in  her  dress, 
aping  Western  ideas,  while  in  other  cases  where  husbands 
had  set  free  their  wives  to  remarry  according  to  Christian 
rule,  and  husbands  could  not  be  found  for  them,  they  yielded 
to  their  worst  passions,  and  proved  a  scourge  to  the  nation. 

One  of  the  great  aims  of  the  missionaries  has  been  to  give 
the  people  some  idea  of  the  happiness  of  home  life ;  parents 
have  been  induced  to  keep  their  children  at  home  instead  of 
sending  them  away  to  relatives,  in  conformity  with  the  old 
heathen  custom  of  handing  them  over  to  their  clan  elders; 
and  they  have  been  advised  to  train  them  according  to 
Christian  principles.  This  task,  utterly  foreign  to  the  nation, 
is  still  being  urged,  and  it  is  beginning  to  show  good  results 
in  certain  directions;  it  has,  however,  many  disadvantages 


12  2 


i8o      WOMEN  EAGER  TO  LEARN  TO  WRITE  [ch. 


which  time  alone  will  overcome.  In  many  Christian  homes, 
as  in  all  heathen  homes,  the  education  of  girls  has  been  looked 
upon  with  distrust  and  disfavour ;  it  has  taken  years  to  make 
parents  realise  their  duty  to  their  daughters  in  this  respect, 
for  it  was  thought  that  boys  alone  had  mental  ability  and 
needed  to  be  educated,  whereas  girls  were  incapable  of  thought 
and  needed  no  mental  culture.  There  were  some  remarkably 
clever  women  with  natural  abilities,  who  quickly  mastered  the 
art  of  reading  and  writing,  as  soon  as  the  authorities  per- 
mitted them  to  learn;  these  were,  however,  the  exceptions, 
the  vast  majority  being  lazy  and  ignorant,  except  in  purely 
domestic  matters  in  which  respect  they  showed  considerable 
skill.  The  writer  well  remembers  one  of  Mwanga's  wives 
sending  a  little  girl  to  him  with  the  request  that  he  should 
write  a  letter  to  herself.  The  request  seemed  strange,  and 
was  unwillingly  granted,  perhaps  mainly  in  order  to  be  freed 
from  the  child's  presence.  After  some  three  or  four  months 
the  same  child  appeared  again  with  a  letter  said  to  have  come 
from  her  mistress;  this  letter  was  a  puzzle  to  me,  and  I  sup- 
posed that  it  was  my  former  letter  returned.  The  child,  how- 
ever, persisted  in  saying  that  she  saw  her  mistress  write  it ;  and 
after  further  questioning  it  became  evident  that  the  mistress 
had  in  the  first  instance  wanted  a  letter  from  me  as  a  copy, 
in  order  to  learn  to  write.  For  weeks  she  had  been  diligently 
writing  and  rewriting  that  letter,  until  at  length  the  copy  was 
so  perfect  that  it  might  be  taken  for  the  original.  Some  women 
were  very  diligent  and  painstaking  in  their  desire  for  mental 
culture,  while  others  only  wished  to  learn  to  read,  though 
in  other  respects  they  were  exemplary  wives,  diligent  in 
household  duties.  On  the  other  hand,  many  women  whose 
husbands  desired  to  raise  them  above  the  old  level,  tried  to 
dress  extravagantly,  brought  their  husbands  into  debt  with 
Indian  shopkeepers,  and  mismanaged  their  homes.  A  severe 
trial  which  awaited  many  women  and  caused  discontent 
among  them,  arose  from  the  isolation  to  which  they  were 
exposed  by  being  left  unprotected  in  distant  parts  of  the 
country  during  the  enforced  absence  of  their  husbands,  who 


XI] 


NATIVE  GOVERNMENT 


181 


were  taken  to  some  labour  station,  to  fulfil  a  term  of  work 
for  the  Government. 

Owing  to  the  wars  and  rebellions  during  Mwanga's  reign 
the  male  population  was  greatly  reduced,  and  when  the  king 
fled  the  country,  he  further  diminished  the  number,  and  left 
the  land  with  only  a  child  for  its  king.  About  this  time  new 
tracts  of  country  had  been  added  to  the  kingdom,  and  a 
number  of  new  chieftainships  had  been  established,  which 
demanded  an  increased  number  of  peasants  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  these  lands,  but  they  were  not  forthcoming;  and  not 
only  so,  but  there  were  fewer  women  available  than  had  ever 
been  in  the  past.  The  abolition  of  slavery  had  already  con- 
siderably reduced  the  number  of  women  on  the  land,  and  now 
the  disorganisation  of  the  old  polygamous  system  reduced 
the  number  of  workers  still  further,  and  that  at  a  time  when 
there  was  a  need  of  an  increase  rather  than  a  decrease  of 
labourers. 

To  understand  how  the  new  land  regulations  affected  the 
country,  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

Before  the  British  came,  the  king  was  in  reality  an  autocrat, 
though  his  usual  policy  was  more  democratic  than  it  is  often 
thought  to  have  been.  For  example,  the  principal  chiefs  were 
usually  consulted,  and  were  also  allowed  in  almost  every  in- 
stance, when  necessity  arose,  to  nominate  a  man  for  any 
vacant  office.  This  body  of  principal  rulers  was  in  some 
respects  like  our  House  of  Lords;  their  official  position  gave 
them  the  right  to  sit  in  council,  to  discuss  the  most  private 
questions  of  the  day,  and  submit  their  decisions  to  the  king, 
who  rarely  rejected  them. 

In  public  meetings,  held  either  in  the  prime  minister's 
court  or  in  the  royal  courts,  to  discuss  social  problems, 
peasants  did  not  hesitate  to  stand  up  and  give  their  opinions 
in  the  matter  under  discussion;  the  humblest  person  had 
the  right  to  be  present,  and  to  make  himself  heard  when 
an  important  question,  which  would  affect  him,  was  being 
considered.   In  all  these  meetings  of  the  various  courts  a 


182 


CLOTHING 


[CH. 


certain  etiquette  was  followed  which  no  man  dared  infringe; 
thus,  no  man  ever  sat  on  a  raised  seat,  but  always  on  a  rug 
or  mat,  while  nearness  to  the  king  was  reserved  for  the  more 
important  chiefs.  Again,  no  man  would  dare  to  step  upon  the 
king's  rug  or  even  to  brush  against  it,  for  then  he  would  have 
incurred  instant  death.  Further,  no  man  dared  sneeze  or 
blow  his  nose  in  court;  such  acts  indicated  colds,  which  were 
infectious,  and  a  danger  to  the  life  of  the  sovereign ;  any  in- 
fringement of  these  rules  was  punishable  by  fine  or  even  by 
death.  The  king  alone  sat  on  a  raised  seat,  which  in  early 
days  was  a  mound  of  beaten  earth,  and  was  later  surmounted 
by  a  stool  covered  with  a  beautifully  dressed  rug  composed 
of  lion  and  leopard  skins,  these  being  the  skins  of  the  royal 
totemic  animals.  Chiefs  sat  on  cow-skin  or  on  antelope- 
skin  rugs,  which  were  well  dressed  and  supple ;  in  later  days 
prettily  woven  mats,  made  by  women  from  the  fronds  of 
palm  leaves  and  dyed  red  and  black,  were  introduced  into 
the  country  by  coast  traders,  and  used  by  chiefs  to  sit  on. 
The  art  of  dressing  skins  had  reached  a  high  standard;  there 
were  men  who  gave  the  whole  of  their  time  to  this  work 
and  to  the  making  of  sandals  from  buffalo  hide;  these  sandals 
were  worn  by  royalty  and  chiefs  alone,  while  poorer  people 
went  bare-footed. 

A  variety  of  materials  for  dress  were  used.  The  custom 
of  wearing  clothes  had  advanced  from  the  small  skin  of 
the  goat  worn  round  the  waist  by  married  women  when 
away  from  home,  to  the  mantle  of  skins  stitched  together; 
the  bark-cloth  robe  was  next  introduced  and  enforced  upon 
all  classes,  and  later  the  use  of  calico  and  fine  linen  garments, 
with  hand  embroidery  on  them,  like  the  smocking  on  farm 
labourers'  smocks,  became  the  clothing  of  the  better  classes 
of  society.  There  was  a  time,  little  beyond  the  memory  of 
those  now  living,  when  neither  sex  wore  clothing,  the  only 
article  worn  being  an  apron  for  men,  used  especially  for  sitting 
upon,  while  the  women  went  about  naked.  Clothing,  that  is 
to  say  the  bark-cloth,  was  not  introduced  so  much  from  a 
sense  of  decency,  as  because  it  became  a  source  of  revenue 


XI] 


IDEAS  OF  MORALITY 


183 


to  the  state.  A  former  king  ordered  the  people  to  plant  trees 
of  the  kind  from  which  bark-cloth  is  made,  and  appointed 
them  a  set  time  when  they  were  to  begin  to  wear  clothing, 
and  any  infringement  of  this  order  was  punished  by  a  fine. 
The  bark-cloth  has  from  that  date  onwards  been  one  of  the 
chief  national  assets  in  the  annual  taxation  of  the  country, 
and  has  also  supplied  the  needs  of  the  nation,  both  for  wearing 
apparel  and  for  bed  clothing.  We  must  not  forget  the  fact 
that  the  possession  of  clothing  in  primitive  countries  is  no 
guide  to  the  state  of  morality,  though  as  civilisation  enters 
any  place,  clothing  is  introduced.  It  is  the  social  and  religious 
customs  of  a  nation  with  their  concomitant  beliefs  which 
regulate  morality.  Thus,  in  some  parts,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  people  are  most  careful  about  clothing,  and  yet  are  im- 
moral. Again,  the  code  of  morality  differs  considerably;  in 
some  places  there  is  free  and  unrestrained  sexual  intercourse 
between  unmarried  people,  whereas  a  married  woman  is 
strictly  confined  to  her  husband,  and  death  is  the  punish- 
ment for  any  breach  of  the  rule;  in  other  tribes  young  women 
are  carefully  guarded  against  intercourse  with  males  until 
their  marriage,  but  from  that  time  restrictions  are  removed, 
and  a  wife  is  expected  to  welcome  her  husband's  guests  to 
her  couch.  In  each  case  it  will  be  found  that  the  religious 
ideas  of  the  tribe  regulate  the  standard  of  morality,  defining 
what  is,  and  what  is  not,  a  legitimate  moral  act,  and  the  fear  of 
ghostly  punishment  for  a  transgression  has  greater  effect  than 
any  punishment  which  the  government  may  inflict. 

This  brings  us  to  the  period  of  evolution  in  Uganda,  when 
skins  of  animals  ceased  to  be  articles  of  clothing,  and  came 
to  be  used  as  rugs  to  sit  upon ;  now  both  men  and  women  are 
carefully  clothed,  either  in  bark-cloth  or  in  calico  garments, 
and  the  body  is  covered  to  an  extent  which  would  satisfy 
Western  ideas  of  decency. 

Whenever  the  king  took  his  seat  in  the  court,  there  were 
two  men  seated  behind  him,  whose  duty  it  was  to  support 
his  chair  and  to  steady  it,  lest  it  should  topple  over;  and 
behind  these  men  two  or  three  wives  of  the  king  sat,  listened 


184  ROYAL  RECEPTIONS  [ch. 

to  all  that  was  said,  and  kept  an  eye  upon  all  present,  to 
warn  their  lord,  if  necessary,  of  any  danger.  The  presence  of 
these  women  was  a  survival  of  the  barbarous  days  when 
the  wife  was  the  most  natural  person  to  guard  her  husband, 
and  to  warn  him  of  any  approaching  danger,  should  there 
be  any  cause  for  suspicion.  The  king  had  two  royal  spears, 
one  made  of  copper  and  the  other  of  brass,  placed  within  his 
reach,  ready  for  any  emergency;  it  is  related  that  in  former 
days  he  did  not  hesitate  to  use  them,  if  he  was  contradicted 
or  crossed  by  any  person  in  court.  In  later  days  it  was, 
however,  seldom  necessary  for  the  king  to  assert  himself,  for 
few  men  would  dare  to  utter  a  word  against  their  lord;  and 
had  any  man  done  so,  he  would  have  been  struck  down  at  once 
by  some  of  the  retainers,  or  by  one  of  the  royal  bodyguard 
stationed  about  in  the  hall.  During  the  sitting  of  the  court 
there  were  numbers  of  this  special  police-force  or  bodyguard 
standing  about  among  the  assembled  crowds;  they  were 
armed  with  spears,  and  had  a  coil  of  rope  twisted  round  their 
heads  like  a  turban ;  the  rope  was  intended  to  bind  any  man 
whom  the  king  might  order  them  to  seize. 

At  these  public  sittings  every  kind  of  business  was  dis- 
cussed, and  the  meetings  were  enlivened  by  amusing  accounts 
of  current  events,  or  stories  of  huntsmen  who  had  escaped 
death  from  some  animal  in  the  chase,  and  also  by  the  exhi- 
bition of  any  peculiar  growth  of  vegetables.  Six  to  eight 
hours  was  the  usual  time  for  a  meeting  to  last;  the  people 
began  to  assemble  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
remained  in  council  until  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
when  the  king  rose  and  ended  the  meeting.  The  royal  brewers 
supplied  a  quantity  of  plantain  beer  for  these  gatherings ;  it 
was  placed  ready  for  the  gathering  in  a  hut  near  the  reception 
hall,  and  guarded  by  special  attendants,  who  doled  it  out  to 
the  chiefs  and  to  their  retainers,  whenever  they  wished  to 
refresh  themselves  during  the  hours  when  the  court  was 
sitting.  In  these  meetings  the  king  learnt  about  his  kingdom, 
and  gained  such  accurate  knowledge  of  the  country  that  he 
could  describe  distant  places  with  minute  detail;  this  enabled 


XI]  A  CHIEF'S  REPRESENTATIVE  185 


him  to  rule  with  great  wisdom,  and  to  decide  matters  con- 
cerning places  which  he  had  never  visited;  it  also  gave  him 
an  intelligent  interest  in  the  country,  advantageous  to  the 
needs  of  the  people.  He  also  learnt  in  these  meetings  to 
gauge  the  feeling  of  the  country  accurately,  and  if  any  chief 
absented  himself  for  more  than  two  meetings  in  succession 
without  special  permission,  the  cause  had  to  be  made  known; 
it  was  an  old  custom  to  regard  as  a  rebel  any  chief  who 
absented  himself  from  a  meeting;  the  latter  was  called  to 
account  for  his  absence,  and  even  if  he  was  pardoned,  he  had 
to  pay  a  fine  for  his  discourtesy.  Absence  from  court  assem- 
blies in  the  days  when  princes  were  allowed  to  remain  alive, 
invariably  pointed  to  some  plot,  or  some  rebellion  which  was 
being  hatched  by  the  chief  in  connection  with  one  of  the 
princes.  The  more  influential  chiefs  were  obliged  to  lead  the 
greater  part  of  their  lives  in  the  capital,  so  as  to  be  near  the 
king,  to  help  in  case  of  need,  and  to  take  part  in  the  govern- 
ment, leaving  their  estates  to  the  care  of  some  trusted  relative 
or  friend.  The  man  who  managed  the  estate  of  a  chief  took 
the  title  of  the  master  during  the  period  he  acted  for  him; 
he  tried  and  decided  cases  unless  they  were  of  a  serious  nature, 
in  which  case  he  sent  them  to  the  chief. 

When  it  became  necessary  for  a  chief  to  go  into  the  country, 
he  first  obtained  the  king's  permission  to  absent  himself 
from  court,  and  next  appointed  his  representative  in  the 
capital,  who  appeared  at  any  gatherings  of  the  court  in  his 
stead,  bearing  his  title  and  watching  over  his  interests. 
Many  amusing  mistakes  have  been  made  by  Englishmen 
who  did  not  know  this  custom  of  a  chief  appointing  a  repre- 
sentative, and  sometimes  the  mistakes  became  serious.  For 
instance,  on  one  occasion  when  certain  carriers  who  had  been 
employed  by  a  British  Government  official,  represented  to 
him  that  part  of  their  pay  had  been  withheld  by  an  important 
chief,  whereas  they  meant  the  representative ;  the  officer  was 
naturally  annoyed,  because  the  work  done  had  given  him 
satisfaction,  and  he  had  sent  special  pay  for  the  men.  The 
accused  chief  was  called  and  questioned,  and  he  truthfully 


i86 


NEW  MOON  CEREMONIES 


[ch. 


said  that  he  did  not  know  anything  about  the  deduction, 
but  that  he  would  investigate  the  matter.  Thereupon  the 
officer,  not  understanding  the  custom  of  appointing  a 
representative  who  bore  his  master's  title,  denounced  the 
chief  as  a  thief  and  a  liar,  and  it  required  some  explana- 
tion to  reinstate  him  in  the  officer's  confidence  and  good 
opinion.  In  another  instance,  where  an  officer  thought  that 
he  had  complete  evidence  of  a  chief's  guilt  in  some  particular 
matter,  he  wished  to  have  the  man,  though  he  was  really 
innocent,  deposed  from  his  chieftainship,  because  the  latter 
truthfully  said  that  he  did  not  know  anything  about  the 
offence  with  which  he  was  charged,  and  the  officer  did  not 
understand  the  custom  of  representatives.  Fortunately  the 
incident  was  related  to  a  person  who  understood  native 
customs;  he  suggested  further  enquiries  being  made,  with 
the  result  that  the  chief's  representative  was  found  to  be 
the  culprit. 

Let  us  retrace  our  steps  to  the  king's  court  and  his  recep- 
tions, which  were  held  at  short  intervals  of  a  few  days. 
There  were  no  divisions  of  days  into  weeks;  the  new  moon 
alone  served  to  divide  the  year  into  months,  and  the  year  was 
marked  by  the  rains,  which  came  at  the  end  of  six  months, 
so  that  a  year  consisted  of  six  moons,  and  a  moon  of  twenty- 
eight  days.  At  the  appearance  of  each  moon  there  was  a  rest 
of  at  least  one  day,  though  in  some  places  it  lasted  for  several 
days,  and  at  one  or  two  temples  it  was  marked  by  a  cessation 
of  work  for  nine  days  while  special  worship  was  enacted. 
The  new  moon  was  the  time  for  special  ceremonies,  the  most 
important  being  the  meeting  of  the  king's  officers,  when  many 
royal  fetishes  were  presented,  and  the  particular  fetish  called 
the  "twin,"  the  stump  of  the  umbilical  cord  of  the  king, 
was  brought  before  his  majesty  in  solemn  procession  and 
presented  to  him  by  the  guardian  of  the  sacred  relics.  In 
these  monthly  ceremonies  the  king  showed  himself  to  be  the 
head  of  the  whole  religious  worship. 

Apart  from  the  general  receptions  it  was  difficult  for  any 
one  to  see  the  king;  even  the  most  important  chiefs  had  to  go 


XI] 


NATIVE  HOSPITALITY 


187 


through  a  tedious  process  of  waiting  and  being  announced, 
and  sometimes  the  waiting  lasted  a  whole  day,  before  they 
were  taken  into  the  royal  presence ;  while  unimportant  chiefs 
and  peasants  might  go  day  after  day,  and  wait  from  early 
morning  until  evening,  hoping  to  receive  the  necessary  invita- 
tion to  be  allowed  to  lay  some  private  matter  before  his 
majesty.  The  only  comfort  these  waiting  visitors  had  was  the 
society  of  other  companions  in  waiting,  for  they  were  seldom 
alone,  and  there  were  generally  several  others  on  similar 
errands,  with  whom  they  might  converse.  It  was  easier  and 
on  the  whole  more  satisfactory  for  people  to  see  the  prime 
minister,  and  lay  theii  matters  before  him,  and  leave  him 
to  take  their  cases  to  the  king;  there  were,  however,  times 
when  men  preferred  to  wait  and  present  their  petitions  to 
the  king  personally,  when  they  hoped  to  gain  royal  favour 
by  some  gift.  When  any  person  of  note  was  admitted  to  the 
king,  a  man,  who  was  a  special  drummer,  beat  a  peculiar 
rhythm  on  his  drum,  and  made  a  deep  growling  noise,  like 
that  of  a  lion,  as  the  visitor  entered  and  passed  in  to  the 
king.  I  have  never  been  able  to  discover  the  purpose  of  this 
drum,  though  I  still  think  that  it  had  some  ceremonial 
significance. 

People  visiting  the  prime  minister  were  sure  to  receive 
a  meal,  if  they  were  detained  until  the  meal  hour,  because 
it  was  one  of  the  features  of  his  office  to  keep  open  house 
and  to  serve  meals  to  all  who  came  into  his  enclosure; 
and  servants,  even  the  most  menial,  received  a  meal  as  well 
as  their  masters.  One  of  the  most  pleasant  phases  of  Uganda 
life  in  those  old  days  was  the  hospitality  of  all  classes;  every 
family  was  expected  to  receive  even  the  passing  stranger  and 
to  provide  him  with  food,  so  that  no  one  ever  went  away 
hungry;  no  matter  in  what  part  of  the  country  he  was 
travelling,  a  man  was  always  sure  of  a  meal,  and,  if  necessary, 
of  a  place  in  which  he  might  pass  the  night.  It  was  impolite, 
indeed  positively  rude,  to  stand  and  gaze  upon  people  when 
they  were  at  a  meal,  and  it  was  not  polite  or  customary  to 
salute  a  family  or  to  ask  them  how  they  were,  while  they 


i88 


A  CHIEF  AT  HOME 


[CH. 


were  eating.  The  proper  course  was  to  approach  the  party, 
when  the  host  would  at  once  invite  the  visitor  to  share  the 
meal,  and  when  it  was  ended,  the  guest  would  salute  the  host 
and  the  other  persons  present. 

When,  therefore,  litigants  went  to  the  prime  minister  and 
were  kept  waiting  while  other  cases  were  being  tried,  they 
would  not  be  forgotten  at  meal  time.  The  inevitable  change 
which  has  taken  place,  owing  to  the  country  having  become 
a  Protectorate,  and  through  advancing  trade  and  commerce, 
has  obliterated  the  pleasant  old  custom  of  hospitality.  Chiefs 
now  have  their  meals  in  private,  when  only  friends  can  ap- 
proach them;  and  they  seldom  ask  anyone  except  special 
friends  to  share  their  meal.  Again,  chiefs  have  now  to  buy 
food,  and  they  find  it  difficult  to  supply  even  those  dependent 
on  them  with  the  necessary  daily  provisions,  so  that  hospitality 
is  perforce  limited.  In  the  enclosures  of  chiefs  the  men  had 
their  meals  apart  from  the  women,  though  the  wife  of  a  chief 
usually  acted  as  waitress  and  dished  up  the  mashed  plantain 
food;  sometimes  she  would  divide  it,  and  give  a  portion  to 
each  person,  and  add  to  it  if  necessary,  and  if  there  was 
butcher's  meat,  she  would  cut  it  up  and  hand  it  round ;  she 
also  provided  sponges  for  washing  the  hands  before  and  after 
the  meal.  Every  chief  was  a  magistrate  in  his  own  district, 
even  if  his  chieftainship  was  of  little  importance,  and  he  was 
only  raised  above  the  status  of  an  ordinary  free  man  by  having 
a  small  estate  with  four  or  five  tenants.  The  more  important 
chiefs  were  accorded  great  honour  when  they  visited  their 
country  residences;  they  sat  daily  in  their  court  houses,  and 
received  visitors  from  every  part  of  their  district;  men  of 
every  rank  with  all  kinds  of  business  came  to  visit  them, 
reported  the  progress  of  the  district  and  talked  over  small 
news.  When  there  were  no  cases  to  be  tried,  the  chief  sat 
with  his  guests  and  talked  over  the  news  of  the  country,  or 
told  his  people  the  affairs  of  the  capital.  As  writing  was  un- 
known, everything  was  committed  to  memory,  and  both 
historical  and  geographical  facts  were  remembered  and  re- 
told with  great  accuracy;  besides  having  a  retentive  memory 


XI]  FORMS  OF  PUNISHMENT  189 

these  people  were  gifted  with  rhetorical  powers,  which  made 
their  conversation  interesting  and  instructive. 

The  cases  for  trial  were  chiefly  confined  to  matters  con- 
cerning property,  magic,  matrimonial  disputes,  and  theft; 
in  a  large  district  there  was  always  some  person  wanting  to 
go  to  law.  In  most  cases  chiefs  had  the  power  of  life  and 
death,  hence  it  behoved  the  relatives  of  an  accused  person 
to  use  all  the  influence  and  power  of  the  clan  at  his  trial, 
because,  should  a  chief  condemn  a  man  to  death,  and  the 
sentence  be  carried  out,  he  would  seldom  be  called  to  account 
for  his  action.  Still,  any  man  who  was  tried  in  any  inferior 
court  had  the  right  to  appeal  to  a  higher  court,  and  it  was 
the  imperative  duty  of  the  relatives  of  a  condemned  person 
to  take  prompt  steps,  if  they  wished  to  avail  themselves  of 
any  such  right  of  appeal,  and  save  the  prisoner  from  death. 
There  were  court  fees  to  be  paid  before  a  case  would  receive 
a  hearing.  The  punishment  inflicted  by  inferior  courts  was 
invariably  a  fine,  which  was  graduated  according  to  the 
gravity  of  the  offence;  the  successful  litigant  received  the 
greater  part  of  the  fine  imposed,  the  remainder  went  to  the 
state.  There  were  no  prisons,  and  therefore  fines  were  the 
easiest  method  and  also  the  most  remunerative  form  of 
punishment ;  there  were,  however,  occasions  when  men  were 
put  into  the  stocks,  for  instance,  when  they  failed,  either  from 
inability  or  from  disinclination,  to  pay  the  fine,  in  which  case 
they  were  detained  until  the  amount  was  paid.  In  more 
serious  cases,  especially  for  the  crime  of  adultery,  mutilation 
or  death  was  the  summary  punishment.  The  common  stocks 
were  made  by  boring  a  hole  through  a  log  of  wood  large 
enough  for  the  foot  of  the  culprit  to  be  thrust  through  it,  and 
he  was  prevented  from  withdrawing  it  by  a  peg  being  driven 
through  the  log  at  right  angles  to  the  hole,  thus  narrowing 
the  aperture,  so  that  the  foot  could  not  be  removed  until  the 
peg  was  cut  out.  When  a  prisoner  thus  detained  wished  to 
move,  he  had  to  carry  the  log  by  means  of  a  string  tied  to  it, 
thus  relieving  his  foot  of  some  of  the  weight.  This  method  of 
detention  lessened  the  amount  of  close  watching  to  prevent 


190  THE  POWER  OF  MAGIC  [ch. 

a  prisoner  from  escaping  which  otherwise  would  have  been 
required.  During  the  period  of  detention  a  prisoner  had  to 
find  his  own  food;  it  was  part  of  his  punishment  to  do  this,  or 
go  hungry. 

An  interesting  feature  frequent  in  cases  of  imprisonment 
was  that  men  could,  and  often  did,  bribe  their  custodian  to 
release  them  for  some  hours ;  the  prisoner  would  then  visit 
some  relative  or  friend,  with  the  object  of  securing  assistance 
to  effect  his  permanent  release.  He  would  be  released  by  his 
keeper  at  dusk  and  would  make  a  rapid  visit,  under  cover  of 
the  darkness,  to  one  or  other  of  his  relatives  and  ask  for  help, 
and  would  return  before  daylight  and  be  in  his  place  in  the 
morning,  awaiting  the  result  of  his  night's  work.  Not  a  single 
instance  is  known  of  the  leniency  of  the  guard  having  been 
abused  by  the  non-return  of  the  prisoner. 

Burglary  was  not  common;  there  were,  however,  adept 
thieves  who  sometimes  visited  houses  where  it  was  known 
that  numbers  of  goats  or  sheep  were  kept.  These  burglars 
were  believed  to  make  magic  which  rendered  the  inmates 
helpless,  and  caused  them  to  sleep  heavily  while  their  house 
was  being  plundered.  Such  burglaries  took  place  by  night 
when  a  district  was  asleep.  The  burglars  have  been  known  to 
enter  a  house,  kill  a  goat  in  the  hut,  cook  the  meat,  and  eat 
a  hearty  meal,  while  the  owner  lay  looking  on,  utterly  unable 
to  move  or  to  call  for  help;  he  asserted  afterwards  that  it  was 
not  fear,  but  the  power  of  magic  which  held  him  spell-bound. 
In  the  morning  the  skin  of  the  animal  and  the  remains  of  the 
meal  were  found  lying  there,  all  the  goats  and  sheep  having 
been  driven  away.  Sometimes  other  property  was  stolen;  as 
the  native  currency  was  placed  between  bark-cloths  on  which 
the  owner  lay,  the  thieves  would  sometimes  lift  the  sleeping 
person  from  the  bed,  deposit  him  on  the  floor,  and  carry  off 
the  money.  The  owner  would  awake  to  the  fact  of  his  loss  in 
the  morning,  when  the  thieves  were  clear  away. 

Most  houses  were  protected  by  fetishes  placed  near  the 
door,  and  a  bundle  of  powerful  magical  objects  over  the  door, 
which  were  supposed  to  prevent  thieves  from  entering.  If  they 


XI] 


PUNISHMENT  OF  THIEVES 


191 


entered,  the  magic  would  work,  and  they  would  become  power- 
less to  leave  the  house,  and  would  be  captured.  Houses  were 
never  secured  during  the  daytime  when  the  owner  was  absent 
in  the  fields,  and  property  was  seldom  missed  from  a  home 
during  such  absence,  the  code  of  honour  among  the  residents 
of  the  village  being  too  high  to  stoop  to  such  base  actions. 
Thieves  stealing  either  from  a  house  or  a  garden  might  be 
killed,  without  any  fear  of  the  blood  avenger,  as  no  relative 
would  seek  to  avenge  such  a  death;  the  theft  was  quite 
sufficient  to  estrange  the  guilty  person  and  to  cut  him  off 
from  all  clan  claims  of  protection.  The  most  frequent  form 
of  theft  was  to  take  food,  and  it  was  quite  a  common  custom 
to  spear  a  thief  when  he  was  stealing  plantains  from  a  garden, 
and  then  to  tie  the  food  which  he  gathered  round  his  neck, 
and  cast  the  body  from  the  garden  on  to  the  nearest  road 
side.  The  body  of  a  slain  thief  would  be  left  unburied,  for 
wild  animals  to  devour,  the  thief  being  regarded  as  an  out- 
cast from  society,  discarded  by  his  clan,  and  his  ghost,  it 
was  thought,  would  find  no  welcome  in  the  ghost  world 
among  its  own  clan  members. 

The  business  of  the  day  was  done  by  the  chiefs  in  the  early 
morning  hours,  and  after  the  duties  were  ended  a  plentiful 
supply  of  plantain  beer  was  brought,  enough  for  a  convivial 
gathering  lasting  several  hours.  Though  not  very  intoxicating, 
it  was  strong  enough  to  muddle  the  brain  before  night.  It 
was  drunk  through  tubes  which  were  not  unlike  straws,  only 
more  durable ;  during  the  drinking  ordinary  conversation  was 
carried  on  until  afternoon,  when  most  of  the  visitors  left  for 
their  homes.  In  the  evening  at  sunset,  that  is  about  half-past 
six,  the  smouldering  logs  in  the  fireplace  in  the  centre  of  the 
hut  were  blown  into  a  blaze,  and  as  the  darkness  increased, 
a  torch  of  elephant  grass  was  used  to  light  up  the  hut,  and  the 
conversation  continued  until  late  in  the  evening.  The  visitors 
who  lived  near  and  wished  to  stay,  partook  of  the  evening 
meal,  and  remained  with  the  chief  until  nine  o'clock  or  later. 

The  prime  minister  seldom  visited  his  property  in  the 
country;  as  his  presence  was  required  in  the  capital,  he 


192  A  CHIEF'S  TOWN  RESIDENCE 


could  not  spare  time  to  take  holidays  on  his  estates;  and  he 
rarely  gave  way  to  excessive  drinking,  his  duties  being  of  such 
a  character  that  he  could  not  afford  to  yield  to  the  temptation, 
and  needed  his  faculties  for  the  many  political  problems  with 
which  he  had  to  deal.  A  chief,  resident  in  the  capital,  would 
expect  to  be  readily  admitted  to  the  prime  minister's  resi- 
dence, and  would  often  remain  there  until  nine  or  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  if  there  were  any  reason  for  prolonged  discussion. 

The  capital  was  divided  up  into  a  number  of  sites  corre- 
sponding to  the  country  districts;  every  leading  chief  was 
surrounded  by  the  minor  chiefs  from  his  district,  and  a 
portion  of  uncultivated  land  was  left  on  which  peasants 
could  build  temporary  huts  when  they  were  required  to 
reside  in  the  capital  for  state  work.  By  this  plan  all  the 
people  from  a  particular  district  were  kept  together,  and 
the  sites  remained  the  official  residences  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
districts  to  which  the  sites  belonged.  Chiefs  built  high  fences 
of  reeds  round  their  estates  in  the  capital ;  the  fence  bordering 
on  the  main  road  leading  to  the  capital  was  always  neatly 
finished,  and  the  space  in  front  of  the  gate  was  kept  swept  and 
free  from  weeds.  Within  the  enclosure  there  was  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  land  cultivated,  with  plantain  trees  which 
were  well  cared  for ;  and  the  fruit  of  these  trees  supplemented 
the  food  which  was  brought  up  from  the  country  estate,  and 
also  supplied  the  table  in  any  emergency.  Every  chief  built 
a  number  of  houses  within  his  enclosure,  not  only  for  his  own 
use  and  that  of  his  wives,  but  also  for  slaves  and  retainers,  and 
a  supply  too  for  casual  visitors  who  might  wish  to  stay  with 
him  for  a  day  or  two.  When  a  chief  was  promoted,  or  deposed, 
he  had  to  leave  the  site  on  which  he  had  been  living  within  a 
few  hours;  this  was  so  ordered  to  prevent  chiefs  from  using  all 
the  food  on  the  site,  and  from  causing  destruction  to  the  pro- 
perty. In  the  country  a  chief  built  many  huts,  and  enclosed 
them  within  a  high  strong  fence;  he  also  surrounded  himself 
with  relations,  male  and  female,  and  with  retainers  and  slaves, 
in  addition  to  his  many  wives.  The  women  cultivated  extensive 
plantain  groves  and  supplied  the  chief's  table  with  ample  vege- 


xi]  ROAD  MAKING,  AND  CURRENCY  193 


table  food,  so  that  he  could  entertain  his  assistant  chiefs 
and  visitors  on  a  large  scale,  and  secure  their  good  will. 
Vegetable  food  was  sent  almost  daily  from  the  country 
estate  to  the  capital  when  the  chief  was  in  residence  there. 
His  estate  in  the  capital  was  not  nearly  large  enough  to  keep 
his  household  in  food,  and  he  was  therefore  dependent  upon 
his  country  estate  and  especially  upon  the  good  will  of  his 
retainers. 

From  a  chief's  residence  to  the  capital  a  road  ran  which 
was  as  straight  as  it  was  possible  to  make  it ;  the  worst  hills 
were  skirted;  swamps  were  bridged,  and  a  clear  path  of  three 
yards  was  kept  free  from  overgrowth.  From  a  chief's  residence 
to  that  of  the  next  important  chief  a  similar  road  was  built, 
while  the  last  named  chief  kept  in  repair  a  road  to  his 
neighbour,  so  that  the  country  was  covered  with  a  network  of 
roads  and  paths,  which  were  kept  clear  and  passable.  State 
labour  was  employed  to  keep  these  roads  in  order,  and  formed 
part  of  the  yearly  taxation  of  the  country;  peasants  from  each 
district  were  called  upon,  whenever  necessary,  to  repair  the 
roads,  and  it  was  the  chief  work  in  which  men  were  to  be  found 
digging,  using  hoes  and  working  side  by  side  with  women.  In 
addition  to  supplying  this  labour,  people  paid  taxes  either  in 
kind  or  in  the  currency  of  the  country.  Though  the  currency 
has  for  many  years  been  constantly  changing,  there  always  has 
been  some  form  of  portable  currency ;  it  consisted  formerly  of 
ivory  discs  made  from  elephant  tusks,  while  a  few  pearl  discs 
found  their  way  into  this  currency;  afterwards  came  glass 
beads,  possibly  from  Egypt ;  and  later  came  cowry-shells  from 
the  coast.  When  Arab  slave-traders  began  to  penetrate  into 
the  interior,  they  introduced  cotton  goods,  firearms,  and 
ammunition  for  bartering,  but  cowry-shells  still  remained 
the  common  currency,  and  the  price  of  the  cow  fixed  the 
value  of  the  cowry- shell. 

Each  district  chief  employed  his  own  smith,  potter, 
carpenter,  and  thatcher,  whose  labours  were  rendered  free  in 
lieu  of  rent  and  taxes.  State  building  and  road  making  also 
formed  part  of  the  taxation,  and  further  every  man  was 


R.U. 


13 


194  REED  HUTS  BEST  SUITED  FOR  NATIVES  [ch.  xi 


expected,  and  indeed  loved,  to  give  his  services  in  accom- 
panying any  punitive  expedition. 

Buildings  were  of  perishable  materials;  reeds  of  elephant 
grass,  with  stout  poles  to  support  the  conical  basket  work 
frame,  and  overlaid  with  grass,  formed  the  houses,  and  these 
buildings  required  constant  repairs.  The  duration  of  a  well- 
built  house  seldom  exceeded  four  years;  so  multitudes  of 
men  were  continually  employed  for  house  building  in  the 
capital,  and  indeed  all  over  the  country.  This  type  of 
architecture  was  excellent,  and  well  suited  to  the  country, 
because  the  ventilation  was  good  in  spite  of  the  houses 
having  no  chimneys  or  windows;  and  as  the  buildings  were 
frequently  renewed,  and  the  old  materials  destroyed,  disease 
arising  from  poor  sanitary  conditions  and  unwholesome 
atmosphere  was  prevented.  Goats  and  sheep,  fowls,  and 
sometimes  a  cow  slept  in  the  house  with  the  family;  the 
odour  can  therefore  be  better  imagined  than  described. 

With  this  picture  of  the  country  and  its  social  organisation 
before  us,  we  may  be  able  to  understand  the  constant  fluctua- 
tions in  particular  districts,  and  how  necessary  it  was  to 
readjust  the  chieftainships  when  King  Mwanga  fled  with  a 
number  of  followers  who  were  chiefs,  and  when  subsequently 
he  was  captured  and  deported  with  those  followers.  The 
British  Government  extended  the  north-western  boundary 
of  Uganda,  taking  a  portion  of  Bunyoro  and  giving  it  to  the 
Baganda,  in  recognition  of  services  rendered  in  assisting  to 
put  down  the  recent  rebellion.  The  important  chieftainship 
of  Kimbugwe  had  ceased  when  the  country  became  Christian, 
but  with  the  increase  of  the  country  the  title  was  revived 
without  the  duties  and  was  given  to  a  district  chief,  who  was 
placed  over  a  newly  created  chieftainship.  Fetishes  and 
Twin  have  gone,  so  that  the  title  Kimbugwe  alone  remains  as 
a  relic  of  the  past,  which  is  rather  misleading  to  anyone  who 
knew  the  office  of  old. 


CHAPTER  XII 


TORO— THE  PEOPLE  AND  COUNTRY— MOUNT  LUENZORI 
—HOT  SPRINGS,  AND  THEIR  USE  BY  THE 
NATIVE  POPULATION 

"\  T  J  E  may  now  turn  our  attention  to  some  of  the  countries 


V  V  around  Uganda,  and  try  to  gain  an  insight  into  the 
habits  of  their  population,  and  learn  a  little  about  each 
country.  For  some  months  it  was  my  lot  to  reside  in  Toro 
near  the  great  snow-capped  mountain,  Luenzori,  well  known 
by  the  name  "Mountain  of  the  Moon."  Though  the  house 
I  lived  in  was  built  on  one  of  the  ridges  or  lower  slopes  of  the 
great  mountain  range,  it  was  only  at  special  times  that  the 
clouds  and  mists  lifted  from  the  high  peaks,  and  revealed  the 
mountain  in  its  white  beauty  of  glittering  ice  and  snow. 

Leaving  Mengo,  the  capital  of  Uganda,  and  travelling  in  a 
north-westerly  direction,  we  reached  Toro  after  ten  days' 
steady  marching.  The  mode  of  progress  was  again  by  walking, 
while  the  goods,  as  on  previous  journeys,  were  carried  on  the 
heads  of  native  porters.  There  was,  however,  a  marked  differ- 
ence between  the  carriers  employed  here  and  those  from  the 
coast ;  the  former  were  Baganda  and  they  carried  heavier  loads 
and  made  longer  marches  each  day  than  the  Swahili  had 
done ;  the  average  distance  travelled  being  twenty  miles  a  day 
which  was  cheerfully  accomplished.  The  journey  from  the 
residence  of  one  chief  to  that  of  another  living  in  some  other 
district  was  reckoned  as  a  stage  or  march ;  we  camped  either 
at  the  entrance  or  just  inside  the  chief's  enclosure ;  the  carriers 
and  I  were  treated  as  guests,  and  we  were  supplied  with  ample 
quantities  of  cooked  food  in  the  evening  and  again  in  the  early 
morning.  The  people,  both  men  and  women,  seemed  glad  to  see 
us,  and  crowded  around  us,  eager  for  us  to  hold  a  seivice  and 
teach  them ;  they  often  begged  us  to  remain  for  a  few  days  to 
instruct  them,  and  when  we  left  in  the  earlymorning,  they  would 
accompany  us  some  distance  on  the  way.  It  must  be  remembered 


13—2 


196 


CROSSING  SWAMPS 


[CH. 


that  I  was  known  by  name  at  least,  if  not  by  face,  to  all 
these  people.  Thus  travelling  among  these  hospitable  people 
in  the  early  days  of  mission  life,  before  there  were  frequent 
excursions  of  officers  and  traders  with  large  parties  of  men 
passing  along  the  roads,  was  more  like  paying  a  round  of 
visits  to  friends  than  making  a  journey  in  a  strange  country. 

There  were  many  rivers  to  cioss,  and  sometimes  swamps 
fully  a  mile  wide,  with  black  slush  smelling  horribly,  and  dirty 
water  varying  from  one  to  three  feet  deep;  the  carriers, 
however,  never  allowed  me  to  get  my  feet  wet,  but  raised 
me  on  the  shoulders  of  some  strong  man,  who  carried  me 
across  with  glee,  so  that  I  had  not  to  wade  through  any 
swamp.  Swamps  are  a  great  feature  in  Uganda,  and  are 
found  in  the  valleys  winding  round  the  hills  in  every  part 
of  the  country;  the  water  is  held  up  by  the  dense  growth 
of  vegetation,  especially  papyrus,  which  is  known  to  many 
people  as  sud  of  the  Nile.  These  swampy  valleys  in  Uganda  are 
the  true  home  of  the  papyrus,  and  here  it  flourishes,  covering 
acres  of  land  and  growing  to  a  great  height.  People  have 
spoken  about  the  necessity  of  draining  these  blocked  valleys. 
It  is,  however,  to  be  hoped  that  the  matter  will  receive  the 
attention  of  experts  in  agricultural  and  other  branches  of 
science,  before  the  water  is  run  off  from  these  regions,  lest 
the  land  should  become  dry  and  barren,  and  so  useless  for 
the  cultivation  of  plantains  and  other  water-loving  plants 
which  form  the  principal  support  of  the  native  population. 
The  moisture  in  the  air  in  Uganda  is  doubtless  due  to  these 
belts  of  water,  and  they  play  a  most  important  part  in  the 
fertility  of  the  land. 

On  one  occasion  an  amusing  incident  occurred  while  we  were 
crossing  a  swamp.  I  was  seated  on  the  shoulders  of  a  man,  and 
had  been  carried  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  through  dirty  black 
water,  when  the  man  slipped  into  a  hole,  made  by  the  foot 
of  an  elephant  which  had  crossed  before  us.  He  was  up  to 
the  waist  in  water  and  unable  to  get  out  of  the  hole;  so  he 
suggested  that  the  only  way  out  of  the  difficulty  was  for  me  to 
be  dropped  into  the  water  and  to  walk,  because  we  were  behind 


xii]  CROSSING  A  DANGEROUS  RIVER  197 


the  carriers,  and  there  was  no  one  near  to  help  us.  Of  course  I 
objected  to  this  procedure  and  called  lustily  to  the  men  in 
front ;  fortunately  they  heard  me,  and  several  of  them  ran  back 
to  our  rescue.  By  getting  a  man  on  either  side  of  him  and 
placing  one  hand  on  the  head  of  the  man  on  the  right,  and  the 
other  on  the  head  of  the  man  on  the  left,  and  with  a  third  man 
behind  to  assist  in  raising  my  weight,  my  bearer  was  able  to 
extricate  himself  from  the  hole  and  to  proceed  with  me  in  safety 
to  the  other  side.  This  bearer  was  an  amusing  man,  who,  when 
he  had  me  at  his  mercy  in  a  swamp,  mischievously  threatened 
on  more  than  one  occasion  to  drop  me  into  the  dirty  slush. 

One  of  the  larger  rivers  to  be  crossed  when  going  to  Toro, 
named  the  Mayanja,  had  proved  too  deep  and  wide  for  the 
natives  to  bridge  according  to  their  usual  method,  which  is  to 
make  a  bank  of  earth  across  the  river,  leaving  openings  for  the 
water  to  pass  through,  and  to  place  wooden  poles  across  these 
openings.  This  particular  river,  however,  had  to  be  crossed  by 
means  of  a  precarious  bridge  of  stems  of  papyrus,  which  are 
cut  and  placed  from  root  to  root ;  for  a  few  days  the  stems  will 
bear  the  weight  of  a  man,  but  they  soon  rot  and  become 
dangerous.  When  we  crossed  the  river,  the  bridge  was  in  a  bad 
condition,  and  we  had  to  jump  from  tuft  to  tuft  of  the  papyrus 
roots;  a  bad  jump  or  a  slip  might  have  proved  fatal,  because 
few  natives  can  swim,  and  there  is  in  many  places  a  strong 
current  running  under  the  roots  of  the  papyrus  which  would 
carry  the  unfortunate  man  who  slipped  away,  and  he  would  be 
drowned.  Here  I  had  the  unpleasant  experience  of  testing  the 
current,  owing  to  my  cowman  having  followed  me  too  closely 
with  a  calf  on  his  shoulders  and  passed  me  in  mid-stream  ; 
the  cow  followed  the  man,  anxious  for  the  safety  of  the  calf ; 
and  as  she  passed  me,  she  swam  against  a  root  of  papyrus  on 
which  I  stood  watching  the  men  cross,  and  tipped  me  into  the 
water;  fortunately  the  current  was  not  strong  at  that  place, 
and  I  was  able  to  scramble  on  to  another  root  and  cross  to 
the  other  side  with  nothing  worse  than  a  wetting. 

Before  Christian  teaching  enlightened  the  natives,  they 
firmly  believed  in  a  water  spirit  residing  in  the  river,  which 


198  BELIEF  IN  WATER  SPIRITS  [ch. 


was  supposed  to  take  special  interest  in  fords;  hence  when 
people  wished  to  cross  a  river,  they  made  an  offering  to 
the  spirit  by  throwing  a  few  coffee  berries  into  the  water, 
hoping  thus  to  propitiate  the  spirit  and  cross  safely.  When 
any  native  slipped  into  the  water  and  got  into  difficulties, 
no  friend  dared  help  him,  for  it  was  thought  that  the  man 
had  been  caught  by  the  water  spirit  who  would  resent  any  help 
being  given  him  and  would  capture  the  helper  either  then,  or 
at  some  future  time  when  crossing;  consequently  the  poor 
man  would  be  left  to  drown.  Before  any  large  riverwas  crossed, 
it  was  the  custom  to  address  the  spirit  and  make  an  offering 
to  ensure  a  safe  crossing.  On  the  banks  of  some  rivers  there 
were  shrines  to  which  the  people  took  beer  and  fowls,  but  the 
usual  offering  consisted  of  a  few  coffee  berries  which  were 
thrown  into  the  water  with  a  request  for  a  safe  crossing. 

In  most  of  the  big  rivers  the  hippopotamus  resides,  and 
is  dangerous  if  disturbed.  On  one  occasion  a  chief  was  passing 
along  a  road  by  night  with  a  few  of  his  boys  and  was 
about  to  cross  a  bridge  over  a  river,  when  a  cow-hippo- 
potamus gave  chase;  he  ran  with  his  boys  into  the  grass  to 
escape,  but  the  animal  was  too  quick  for  him,  caught  him, 
and  literally  bit  him  in  two,  and  then  returned  to  the  river, 
leaving  the  rest  of  the  party  to  cross  in  peace.  In  one  place 
on  a  small  hill  where  we  camped  for  Sunday  when  on  one 
of  these  journeys,  a  herd  of  elephants  appeared  on  the  plain, 
and  remained  feeding  for  hours  below  us  near  a  river.  It 
was  an  interesting  sight ;  for  there  were  forty  or  more  animals 
roaming  about,  grazing  and  knocking  their  huge  tusks 
together,  as  they  fed  from  the  same  tree,  causing  a  sharp 
ringing  sound  to  be  heard.  On  the  day  following  we  had  to 
cross  this  wide  river  near  the  place  where  the  elephants 
had  been  feeding.  We  crossed  by  a  papyrus  bridge  which, 
though  safe  enough  while  the  men  kept  moving,  was  in  many 
places  a  few  inches  under  water  and  the  grass  on  which  we 
trod  gave  way  and  sank  at  each  step.  When  we  reached  the 
opposite  bank,  a  carrier  who  had  crossed  in  the  forepart  of 
the  caravan  and  had  been  looking  round  while  his  com- 


xii]  INCIDENTS  WITH  ELEPHANTS 


panions  were  crossing,  came  running  to  say  that  there  was  an 
elephant  dying  in  the  river;  we  ran  to  the  spot,  with  visions 
before  our  minds  of  fine  tusks  which  would  enrich  us,  but  when 
we  reached  the  place,  we  soon  found  that  it  was  not  a  dying 
animal  with  its  legs  in  the  air,  according  to  our  informant's 
description,  but  that  the  herd  which  we  had  watched  the  day 
beiore  was  crossing  the  river.  What  the  man  had  taken  to 
be  the  legs  of  a  dying  animal  were  the  trunks  of  the  elephants ; 
the  rest  of  their  bodies  were  under  water  as  they  waded  across 
the  river.  Needless  to  say,  we  did  not  wait  for  the  elephants 
to  come  to  the  bank;  we  had  no  firearms,  so  we  made  off,  and 
the  carriers  did  not  rest  until  they  had  run  fully  a  mile  from 
the  spot. 

On  another  occasion,  as  we  were  passing  through  a  belt 
of  forest  in  this  same  neighbourhood  in  the  early  morning, 
I  was  walking  in  the  rear  of  the  men,  when  suddenly  they 
rushed  back  past  me,  and  to  my  enquiries  as  to  why  they 
were  running  back  they  only  answered,  "animals."  There 
were  only  a  few  seconds  to  think  and  try  to  discover  the 
meaning  of  the  word,  when  there  was  a  terrific  stampede 
in  front  of  me,  and  young  trees  and  bushes  were  broken  down 
like  straw,  as  a  herd  of  elephants  crossed  my  path  a  few  paces 
in  front  of  me  at  right  angles,  and  were  soon  lost  in  the  distance. 
They  left  behind  them  a  track  some  ten  yards  wide,  carrying 
everything  before  them  in  their  flight.  It  was  fortunate  that 
they  took  the  direction  they  did,  and  that  I  escaped  injury, 
for  they  passed  at  a  short  distance  of  a  few  yards  from  me. 
Most  probably  they  had  scented  the  men  who  had  turned 
back,  and  being  startled  they  had  made  off  to  some  quieter 
place  for  feeding. 

Toro,  according  to  old  traditions,  is  a  part  of  Bunyoro.  It 
was  originally  governed  by  the  king  of  Bunyoro,  until 
Captain  Lugard,  when  representing  the  Imperial  British 
East  African  Company,  placed  Kasagama  on  the  throne  and 
made  it  a  separate  kingdom.  Captain  Lugard  went  to  Lake 
Albert  to  bring  into  Uganda  some  troops  of  the  Sudanese 
army  left  by  Emin  Pasha.  Kasagama  rendered  him  valuable 


200         THE  INHABITANTS  OF  LUENZORI  [ch. 


assistance,  and  it  was  in  return  for  this  help  that  Toro 
was  made  an  independent  state  with  Kasagama  as  its  first 
ruler. 

The  royal  family  of  Toro  belong  to  the  stock  of  the  pastoral 
princes  of  Bunyoro.  In  the  past  a  prince  was  the  nominal 
head  of  this  province.  Kasagama's  father,  who  had  been  sent 
there  as  ruler,  revolted  and  lived  in  open  hostility  with  his 
father  and  brothers.  The  new  King  Kasagama  chose  a  site  on 
the  slopes  of  Luenzori  for  his  capital,  and  he  still  follows 
most  of  the  pastoral  customs,  though  he  has  no  sacred  cattle 
nor  does  he  adhere  to  any  of  the  more  stringent  milk  rules  of 
the  Bunyoro  kings.  The  aborigines  belong  to  the  agricultural 
tribes;  they  are  short  in  stature,  with  woolly  hair  and  broad 
noses,  more  likely  to  have  affinity  with  the  dwarf  tribes  of 
the  Congo  than  with  their  taller  neighbours  who  are  pure 
Bantu.  These  agricultural  tribes  on  Luenzori  have  a  few 
goats,  sheep,  and  fowls,  but  seldom  keep  cows;  they  are  a 
timid,  inoffensive  people  who  prefer  to  flee  into  the  cold 
uplands  of  the  mountain  for  safety  rather  than  meet  a  foe  in 
the  plains  and  fight.  When  a  foe  appeared,  the  inhabitants 
were  warned  by  the  blowing  of  horns,  whereupon  they  fled 
higher  up  the  mountain,  and  hid  themselves  in  the  woods, 
or  climbed  some  high  peak  into  the  cold  air,  where  it  was 
too  severe  for  their  adversary  to  follow  them.  Whatever 
the  vernacular  of  the  people  was  in  the  past,  they  have  now 
acquired  a  dialect  of  Lunyoro,  though  it  is  far  from  pure, 
when  compared  with  the  language  spoken  near  the  Bunyoro 
capital.  As  a  race  the  Toro  people  are  a  poor,  feeble  set, 
and  they  seem  to  be  lacking  in  mental  qualities  just  as  they 
are  in  physical  strength. 

When  making  a  journey  on  one  occasion  into  the  region 
bordering  upon  the  Congo  Forest,  we  camped  near  some  native 
huts  in  the  Semliki  Valley,  and  my  porters  warned  me  to 
be  careful,  because  the  people  were  debased  cannibals,  who 
not  only  eat  the  dead  of  their  own  tribe,  but  also  buy  dead 
bodies  from  other  tribes  around  them.  This  is  said  to  be  due 
to  a  depraved  desire  for  human  flesh  which  they  have  come  to 


XII] 


HOT  SPRINGS 


201 


prefer  to  that  of  animals.  Both  men  and  women  file  their 
teeth  to  a  point,  all  their  incisors  being  pointed  like  the  canine 
teeth ;  this  is  frequently  practised  among  cannibal  tribes.  The 
occupation  of  these  people  is  salt  making  and  fishing;  the 
women  do  the  former,  and  the  men  the  latter.  The  salt  is 
extracted  from  sand  taken  from  the  bed  of  the  river  which  is 
formed  by  the  water  from  the  hot  springs  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  sand  is  scraped  up,  and  put  into  large  pots  with  small 
holes  in  the  bottoms;  these  are  then  placed  on  a  stand  with 
a  second  pot  beneath,  water  is  poured  over  the  sand  in  the 
upper  pot,  and  filters  through  into  the  under  one.  The  water  is 
evaporated  over  slow  fires,  leaving  a  cake  of  salt  at  the  bottom 
of  the  pot ;  in  this  impure  form  the  salt  is  greatly  sought  after 
by  various  tribes  for  seasoning  vegetables  and  meat. 

On  the  western  slopes  of  Luenzori  there  are  some  large  hot 
springs,  which  flow  over  their  rocky  brims  and  run  into  a 
common  channel;  one  of  them  is  well  known  to  the  natives 
for  many  miles  around;  it  is  some  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  and 
is  always  bubbling  over  and  steaming  like  a  huge  caldron. 
The  steam  from  it  has  an  unpleasant  odour  as  though 
charged  with  sulphur.  The  water  from  this  caldron  forms 
the  chief  stream  of  the  river  flowing  into  the  Albert  Lake, 
and  it  is  from  its  banks  and  bed  that  the  natives  of  the 
district  gather  the  sand  for  salt  making.  I  paid  a  visit  to 
this  spring  and  was  carried  over  the  stream  to  reach  the 
edge  of  the  caldron  and  so  obtain  a  better  view  of  the 
boiling  spring.  The  water  of  the  stream  was  so  hot  that  it 
scalded  the  feet  of  the  men  as  we  crossed.  Near  the  huge 
caldron  people  were  cooking  their  food  in  small  holes  in  the 
rock  under  which  the  hot  stream  passed.  The  rock  appears 
to  be  a  thin  shell,  in  places  only  a  few  inches  thick;  under  this 
a  stream  of  water  passes,  so  hot  that  food  can  be  cooked 
in  it  in  a  short  time.  The  method  of  cooking  which  the  people 
adopt  is  to  tie  their  food  to  strings,  and  lower  it  through 
a  hole  in  the  rock  into  the  water  and  hold  it  there  for  a 
few  minutes  until  it  is  cooked ;  the  water  being  brackish  also 
seasons  the  food.  We  bought  a  few  sweet  potatoes  from 


202     THE  TRIBES  OF  THE  SEMLIKI  VALLEY  [ch. 


the  people,  cooked  them  in  this  manner,  and  ate  them  on 
the  spot,  in  order  to  test  the  method  of  cooking.  It  is  ap- 
parently the  custom  of  the  inhabitants  to  gather  at  this 
spot  daily  at  meal  hours,  to  prepare  and  cook  their  meals, 
and  then  to  eat  them  under  a  tree,  after  which  they  return  to 
their  labours  or  go  home ;  this  saves  fire  and  also  the  labour 
of  carrying  water. 

In  the  Semliki  Valley  which  borders  on  the  Congo  Forest, 
the  people  belong  to  several  tribes;  dwarfs  are  to  be  found 
there  and  also  men  fully  six  feet  tall,  with  others  of  various 
degrees  of  stature  between  these  two  extremes;  some  of  the 
people  give  themselves  up  entirely  to  fishing  and  they  barter 
the  fish  for  any  vegetables  they  require,  others  cultivate  the 
ground  and  rear  cattle,  while  all  seem  to  have  their  salt  pans 
in  their  villages.  Pigmies  abound,  but  they  live  almost  entirely 
upon  meat  from  the  chase,  and  have  no  settled  locality; 
where  there  is  game,  they  follow  the  chase,  and  when  successful 
they  settle  down  for  a  time  to  eat  the  meat  so  long  as  the  supply 
lasts;  when  the  meat  is  finished,  they  move  with  their  families 
to  some  new  locality,  where  a  member  of  their  community 
may  have  secured  some  animal.  Chiefs  of  the  district  often 
hire  these  pigmies  to  assist  them  in  their  tribal  wars,  because 
they  are  excellent  shots  with  their  poisoned  arrows,  and  are 
also  skilled  in  spiking  paths  with  needle-like  spikes,  which 
pierce  the  feet  of  their  foes  and  are  scarcely  visible  to  any 
ordinary  pedestrian,  so  skilfully  do  they  conceal  them.  The 
tribe  known  as  the  Barega  are  the  most  important  in  this 
region;  their  district  borders  on  the  Albert  Lake,  they  are 
a  fine  stalwart  race  and  noted  for  bravery.  During  our  visit 
to  the  district  they  would  not  admit  us  into  their  country, 
because  they  were  at  war  with  a  neighbouring  tribe,  and  they 
thought  we  might  increase  their  difficulties. 

One  of  the  most  striking  physical  features  in  this  part  of 
the  country  is  the  number  of  extinct  volcanoes.  In  many 
cases  the  cavities  contain  water,  in  others  there  are  trees 
growing  from  their  depths,  or  they  have  a  mass  of  rich 
vegetation  clothing  their  sides.  In  various  places  round  the 


xii]  WOMEN  OF  PASTORAL  TRIBES  203 


base  of  Luenzori  there  are  hot  springs  esteemed  among  the 
natives  for  healing  different  kinds  of  sickness,  especially 
fever ;  but  this  use  of  hot  springs  is  better  known  among  the 
people  living  to  the  east  and  north  of  the  mountain.  The 
better  class  of  the  Toro  population  are  the  Banyoro,  as 
already  mentioned;  they  have  large  herds  of  cattle  with 
some  of  the  finest  cows  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate;  the 
pasturage  is  good,  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  salt  which 
is  said  to  keep  the  cows  in  good  condition.  The  women,  who 
are  by  their  pastoral  customs  prohibited  from  manual  work, 
are  ungainly  in  appearance  owing  to  their  enormous  fleshy 
size  and  inability  to  walk.  They  consider  obesity  a  feature 
of  beauty,  and  vie  with  one  another  in  accumulating  adipose 
deposit.  There  is  a  natural  disposition  among  the  women  to 
practise  lax  morality,  and  a  desire  for  sexual  relations ;  this 
tendency  is  increased  by  the  life  which  they  are  by  custom 
forced  to  live.  A  married  woman  is  expected  to  entertain  any 
guest  of  her  husband  and  to  invite  him  to  her  couch ;  this  is 
a  mark  of  hospitality  shown  by  all  married  men  to  their 
visitors.  Again,  the  custom  of  polyandry,  which  is  common, 
tends  to  destroy  feminine  modesty,  when  a  woman  no  longer 
regards  one  man  as  the  only  person  to  whom  she  may  speak 
frankly,  and  in  whom  she  may  confide  private  matters. 
Among  the  men  this  custom  destroys  all  notion  of  the 
sanctity  of  a  wife,  for  it  degrades  woman  to  a  low  social 
scale,  leaving  her  a  mere  creature  to  satisfy  animal  passions 
and  lust. 

An  energetic  English  lady  has  started  an  industrial  school 
for  these  women,  who  used  to  fill  up  their  time  with  idle 
and  unchaste  talk  and  deeds;  they  are  now  taught  to  make 
lace,  to  spin,  and  to  engage  in  other  useful  and  profitable 
occupations  which  are  compatible  with  their  ideas  of  women's 
duties.  Such  kinds  of  employment  are  not  derogatory  to 
these  women,  though  they  belong  to  the  pastoral  tribes,  and 
they  should  prove  a  real  boon  in  keeping  them  occupied 
mentally  and  physically  and  filling  up  the  hours  which  they 
used  to  find  so  tedious. 


204  HERDSMEN'S  SCORN  OF  LIONS  [ch. 


The  agricultural  clans  of  Toro  are  reduced  to  a  serfdom 
which  is  little  more  than  slavery;  they  are  given  the 
heavy  work  of  building,  road  making,  and  of  supplying 
plantains  and  corn  for  beer-making;  they  also  supply  food 
for  domestic  slaves  attached  to  households.  They  are  a 
dull  unintellectual  people  whom  it  has  been  found  uphill 
work  to  interest  and  educate. 

When  Kasagama  became  king,  the  country  was  divided 
into  small  states,  each  having  a  superior  chief  to  rule  it, 
who  took  a  title  similar  to  the  title  of  a  chief  in  Bunyoro. 
The  soil  of  the  country  is  not  very  rich,  the  population  is 
small,  and  the  natives  have  little  ambition  beyond  supplying 
their  own  immediate  necessaries ;  the  agricultural  clans  do  not 
cultivate  enough  land  for  their  own  needs,  and  consequently 
live  in  constant  poverty. 

Elephants  abound,  and  there  are  quantities  of  large  game, 
including  numerous  lions  and  leopards;  there  are  parts  where 
it  is  scarcely  safe  to  travel  alone  during  the  daytime  because 
of  these  wild  animals,  and  people  are  frequently  caught  and 
killed  by  thoughtlessly  going  about  alone  and  unarmed. 
Herdsmen  do  not  consider  it  an  act  of  special  bravery  to 
chase  away  a  lion  from  a  herd  of  cows;  my  own  cowman, 
when  driving  two  cows  with  their  calves  on  a  journey,  was 
met  by  a  lion;  he  was  armed  with  a  spear  and  had  a  boy 
with  him ;  when  the  lion  appeared,  he  stood  his  ground  and 
drove  it  away.  He  did  not  even  mention  the  episode  for  a 
day  or  two,  and  then  referred  to  it  in  a  casual  manner  when 
talking  of  wild  animals,  with  no  intention  of  boasting. 

On  another  occasion,  when  camping  near  a  small  chief's 
residence,  we  were  warned  that  there  were  lions  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, and  the  cowman  was  told  to  take  necessary  pre- 
cautions ;  in  the  evening  he  shut  the  calves  in  a  hut  near  to  us, 
while  the  cows  were  outside  by  a  watch  fire  in  front  of  the  tent. 
There  was  no  noise  to  lead  me  to  suppose  that  a  lion  came 
into  our  camp  during  the  night,  and  the  watch  fire  was  kept 
burning  before  the  tent.  In  the  early  morning  soon  after 
five  o'clock  I  looked  out  of  the  tent,  and  all  was  quiet;  the 


XII] 


THE  NATIVES  OF  LUENZORI 


205 


cows  lay  back  to  back  chewing  their  cud,  as  I  walked  to  the 
hut  and  called  the  cowman.  I  received  no  reply  from  him, 
and  the  boys  who  were  awake  said  that  he  had  slept  outside, 
so  as  to  be  near  the  cows  in  case  of  need.  This  was  rather 
alarming,  we  therefore  waked  the  porters  who  were  lodged 
near  by,  to  assist  in  the  search.  But  all  was  in  vain,  and  for 
a  time  the  man  could  not  be  found.  After  looking  about, 
some  of  the  men  called  out,  but  at  first  received  no  reply,  and 
we  came  to  think  that  a  lion  had  carried  him  off,  when  to  our 
amusement  and  relief  the  man  awoke  from  sleep,  called  out 
from  between  the  cows,  and  scrambled  out  from  beneath 
their  heads.  He  had  gone  to  sleep  between  the  animals,  so  he 
said,  to  be  near,  should  any  wild  beast  appear.  If  any  such 
had  appeared,  the  cows  would  have  stood  up  and  waked  the 
herdsman,  who  could  then  have  defended  them. 

The  aborigines  of  Toro  are  a  poor  class  with  little  intel- 
lectual capacity  and  of  miserable  appearance;  they  live 
crowded  together  in  badly  built  huts  on  the  slopes  of  Mount 
Luenzori,  with  small  plots  of  land  under  cultivation  in  the 
valleys,  barely  large  enough  to  supply  their  needs.  On  these 
plots  they  grow  a  kind  of  small  millet,  like  bird  seed,  and 
sweet  potatoes;  the  millet  is  ground  into  a  coarse  flour 
between  two  stones  and  made  into  porridge,  which  forms 
their  staple  food.  Most  of  these  villages  have  stores  of  grain 
hidden  in  wells  in  secret  places,  so  that  the  inhabitants  can 
leave  their  homes  at  a  moment's  notice,  if  they  are  attacked 
by  a  superior  force,  and  still  be  sure  of  their  corn  supply. 
In  former  times  whenever  they  were  attacked  by  an  enemy, 
they  fled  into  the  thick  forest,  and  waited  there  until  the  enemy 
disappeared;  from  these  retreats  they  were  able,  under  the 
cover  of  night,  to  visit  their  stores,  and  obtain  food  as  they 
required  it.  The  clothing  of  both  men  and  women  consists 
of  roughly  dressed  skins  tied  round  the  waist.  They  are 
unkempt,  all  classes  alike,  and  they  do  not  appear  to  take 
any  thought  of  washing. 

On  the  western  banks  of  the  River  Semliki  the  ground 
is  higher  and  less  subject  to  floods  during  the  rains,  hence 


206 


THE  RIVER  SEMLIKI  [ch.  XII 


there  are  more  people  to  be  found  there;  these  have  come 
over  into  British  bounds,  since  the  river  has  become  the 
boundary  of  the  Congo  and  the  British  territory,  and  have 
settled  in  various  places  on  the  slopes  of  the  great  mountain. 

The  river  is  not  more  than  twenty  yards  wide  at  the  ferry 
generally  used  by  people  going  into  the  Congo  district,  but 
there  is  a  strong  stream  flowing,  and  only  experienced  canoe 
men  understand  the  current  well  enough  to  ensure  a  safe 
crossing.  It  is  also  infested  with  crocodiles,  and  a  big  creature 
had  to  be  disturbed  before  we  could  cross  with  our  cattle. 
When  in  flood  the  water  spreads  over  a  large  area,  fully  a 
mile  wide,  from  the  river  bank  on  the  eastern  side;  this 
flooded  country  forms  the  great  fishing  ground  of  the  resident 
fishing  community. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  PASTORAL  PEOPLES  OF  ANKOLE  AND  KOKI— 
A  JOURNEY  INTO  BUDU 

THE  visit  which  I  paid  to  Ankole  was  a  brief  break  in 
the  busy  routine  of  my  teaching  in  Uganda.  The  men 
chosen  by  the  Uganda  Church  Council  to  become  ordination 
candidates  and  catechists,  were  placed  under  instruction  in 
the  school  of  which  I  was  principal,  and  had  two  terms  in  the 
year  lasting  five  months  each,  and  then  at  the  end  of  each 
term  a  break  of  a  month.  During  these  vacations  it  was 
possible  for  me  to  arrange  for  a  clear  month  to  visit  some 
district.  By  making  preparations  before  the  break  in  the  school 
life,  I  was  able  to  start  on  the  day  following  the  cessation  of 
lectures.  On  this  journey  to  Ankole  my  bicycle  played  an 
important  part  and  enabled  me  to  accomplish  each  day's  stage 
of  the  journey  not  only  more  quickly,  but  also  with  comparative 
ease.  A  man  carrying  a  small  store  of  provisions  for  lunch, 
with  a  spirit  lamp  and  kettle,  was  able  to  keep  fairly  near  me 
and,  when  it  was  required,  he  would  carry  my  bicycle  over 
streams  and  swamps,  then  return  and  carry  me  too  over  these 
bad  places.  Twenty  miles  were  thus  completed  in  three  hours, 
and  the  rest  of  the  day  from  about  nine  o'clock  onwards  could 
be  spent  reading  or,  when  possible,  interviewing  natives.  When 
the  carriers  came  up,  the  tent  was  speedily  pitched,  and 
according  to  tropical  custom  a  bath  was  provided,  while 
a  more  substantial  meal  was  being  prepared.  The  few  carriers 
with  the  tent  and  necessary  kit  had  their  packages  made 
up  into  light  loads,  and  seldom  took  more  than  four  and  a 
half  to  five  hours  for  the  twenty  miles  usually  covered. 
These  carriers  were  always  most  cheerful  and  ready  to  do 
all  that  they  could  to  make  the  tours  pleasant  and  interesting; 
they  were  men  who  were  willing  to  work  for  the  small 
remuneration  which  I  could  give,  and  glad  to  be  enabled  to 
see  something  of  other  lands  than  their  own.  On  this  journey 


208 


A  FOLLOWING  OF  LIONS 


[CH. 


a  friend  caught  me  up,  and  we  travelled  together  for  two 
days;  we  decided  to  try  and  combine  the  last  two  marches 
into  one,  and  so  reach  our  destination  a  day  earlier  than  would 
otherwise  have  been  possible,  and  enjoy  a  day  longer  in  Ankole. 
As  there  was  moonlight,  we  determined  to  make  an  early  start 
at  three  o'clock  and  to  complete  the  first  stage  in  the  cool; 
we  found  that  we  could  use  our  bicycles,  riding  slowly  along 
the  paths  dimly  lighted  by  the  moon.  As  we  were  passing 
through  a  belt  of  forest,  we  came  upon  a  few  men  with  a 
number  of  cows,  who  had  fires  burning  brightly  around  the 
animals;  they  told  us  that  several  lions  had  attempted  to 
capture  the  cattle,  as  they  were  driving  them,  and  at  last 
they  were  compelled  to  stop  and  light  fires  for  protection. 
We  went  on,  but  saw  nothing  of  the  lions;  our  men,  who 
followed  later  by  daylight,  said  that  there  were  footprints  of 
the  lions  for  some  distance  along  the  path  from  the  cattle  camp, 
showing  that  the  beasts  had  left  the  cattle  and  followed  us. 
We  had  passed  on  not  aware  of  having  royal  followers. 

The  Banyankole  or  Bahima,  as  the  pastoral  people  of 
Ankole  are  commonly  called  by  the  tribes  around  them,  are 
closely  allied  to  the  Banyoro  and  the  dominant  people  of 
Toro,  though  they  differ  from  them  in  many  respects,  both  as 
regards  government  and  some  important  pastoral  customs. 
Their  affinity  in  milk  customs  and  their  similarity  in  personal 
appearance  point  to  a  common  origin,  while  the  differences 
as  regards  other  customs  make  it  clear  that  they  have  for 
many  years  held  aloof  from  other  pastoral  peoples. 

Ankole,  by  which  name  the  country  is  known,  is  so  called 
after  a  former  king;  it  lies  to  the  south-west  of  the  Victoria 
Nyanza,  and  is  bounded  by  the  kingdom  of  Uganda  on  the 
east,  Bunyoro  on  the  north,  Lake  Albert  Edward  on  the 
west,  and  Mpororo  on  the  south.  It  is  a  small  state,  but 
it  is  wonderfully  suited  for  cattle  rearing;  it  is  here  that  the 
long-horned  cattle,  so  famous  in  the  central  regions,  thrive, 
indeed  all  cows  seem  to  thrive  here,  and  to  surpass  those  of 
any  other  country,  while  the  long-horned  kind  rarely  do  well 
out  of  Ankole. 


PLATE  XIV 


MAKING  BARK-CLOTH  IN  UGANDA 


PLATE  XV 


EXTRACTING  SALT  FROM  SAND,  BUNYORO 


xiii]  CHIEFTAINSHIPS  IN  ANKOLE  209 


The  country  has  the  same  undulating  character  as  that 
of  Uganda,  though,  as  the  valleys  are  not  so  overgrown 
with  papyrus  grass,  the  water  drains  off  more  quickly,  and 
the  land  is  drier.  There  is  in  this  country  an  agricultural 
tribe,  as  in  Toro  and  Bunyoro,  who  are  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  slaves  to  the  pastoral  people  and  live  in  a  servile 
condition.  These  agricultural  classes  cultivate  a  small  kind  of 
millet  and  a  few  plantains,  the  latter  being  grown  in  small 
clumps  and  carelessly  tended,  the  people  depend  almost 
entirely  upon  their  grain  and  sweet  potatoes  for  food,  and 
upon  the  rearing  of  goats  for  trading  purposes,  such  as  the 
purchase  of  wives  and  payment  of  fines.  They  seldom  kill 
animals,  but  depend  upon  small  wild  game  for  their  frugal 
supply  of  this  kind  of  food.  Salt  is  procurable  from  their 
neighbours  on  the  lake  shores  near  by.  Here,  as  in  Bunyoro 
and  Toro,  the  agricultural  people  are  the  acknowledged 
aborigines,  who  have  been  conquered  and  reduced  to  serfdom; 
the  pastoral  people  call  the  agricultural  people  Baheru,  which 
is  their  word  for  slaves. 

A  feature  exists  here  in  the  method  of  government  which 
does  not  appear  to  be  followed  by  any  other  of  the  pastoral 
tribes  of  Central  Africa,  at  least  not  to  the  same  extent; 
namely  the  king  claims  the  cattle  throughout  the  country  as 
his  own,  and  appoints  his  chiefs  to  their  offices  according  to 
the  number  of  cattle  allotted  to  them;  the  rank  of  a  chief 
is  thus  reckoned  not  by  territory,  but  by  the  number  of  cattle 
which  he  possesses.  The  land  is  only  of  secondary  importance, 
though  it  is  marked  out  into  districts,  and  each  chief  is 
ruler  over  the  pasturage  of  an  assigned  area;  his  cattle  and 
those  of  his  subchiefs  roam  over  it  at  the  discretion  of  the 
herdsmen.  The  British  Government  has  to  some  extent 
abolished  the  arrangement  which  gave  the  king  the  sole  right 
of  possessing  cattle,  and  his  chiefs  are  now  said  to  possess  cattle 
of  their  own,  which  would  have  been  impossible  in  former  years. 
The  king  and  almost  all  the  chiefs  have  become  Christians,  and 
the  country  is  being  developed  along  lines  laid  down  by  British 
officers ;  indeed  there  are  a  number  of  chiefs  in  charge  of  the 


R.U. 


14 


210         BAGANDA  AS  CHIEFS  IN  ANKOLE  [ch. 

agricultural  districts,  seeking  to  develop  the  land,  but  these 
men  are  Baganda  who  have  been  brought  into  the  country 
to  superintend  the  cultivation  of  cotton  and  rubber.  This 
innovation  that  chiefs  should  have  an  interest  in  agricultural 
pursuits  militates  against  all  the  sacred  rites  of  the  pastoral 
people.  Cultivation  under  the  pastoral  customs  could  not  be 
undertaken  without  prejudice  and  injury  to  milk  institutions; 
the  latter  forbade  any  man  keeping  cows  to  dig  or  to  grow  vege- 
table food,  because  it  was  considered  detrimental  to  the  health 
of  the  herds.  The  introduction  of  Baganda  for  this  purpose 
may  possibly  be  the  method  which  the  people  have  adopted  to 
overcome  what  appeared  to  be  an  insurmountable  difficulty. 

There  is  no  question  about  the  country  being  suited  to 
cattle,  for  they  are  in  splendid  condition,  sleek  and  fat,  but 
the  great  demand  for  cotton,  rubber,  coffee,  and  cocoa  has 
prompted  the  British  Government  to  test  every  part  of  the 
Protectorate  as  to  its  suitability  for  growing  these  profitable 
export  products,  and  accordingly  Ankole  is  also  being  tried. 
Chiefs  belonging  to  pastoral  clans  were  unable  to  supervise 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  so  capable  Baganda  have  been  placed 
in  charge  of  certain  districts  to  supervise  the  labours  of  the 
agricultural  clans.  Some  fifteen  years  ago  the  king  of  Ankole 
would  not  have  tolerated  any  Muganda,  as  a  chief,  in  his 
kingdom,  but  would  have  been  afraid  of  the  influence  over 
his  people ;  now,  however,  he  welcomes  them,  to  instruct  his 
peasants  in  the  art  of  cotton  and  rubber  growing,  in  order 
to  satisfy  British  officers,  who,  alas !  know  little  of  the  pastoral 
prejudices  and  superstitions. 

The  office  of  king  is  restricted  to  a  man  of  the  blood  royal; 
the  king  is  highly  revered  by  the  people,  who  look  upon  him 
as  a  person  quite  removed  from  their  level.  Yet  the  king 
is  obliged  to  marry  daughters  of  his  own  subjects,  and  not 
women  from  another  nation,  in  order  to  secure  an  acceptable 
successor  to  the  throne. 

Sons  born  to  princesses  by  husbands  belonging  to  the 
ordinary  ranks  of  society  were  called  princes,  but  they  were 
not  eligible  for  the  throne.  The  education  of  a  prince  differed 


XIII] 


SUPREME  COURTS 


211 


in  no  wise  from  that  of  an  ordinary  herdsman;  he  had  to 
learn  how  to  manage  cows,  and  lived  exactly  as  did  the 
son  of  a  herdsman  in  every  respect;  the  only  difference 
being  that  he  was  dressed  in  a  mantle  of  coloured 
cow-hides;  this  mantle  was  made  of  long  strips  of  red, 
white  and  black  cow-hides  stitched  together — a  regular, 
Joseph's  coat.  Chiefs  wore  robes  of  well  dressed  cow-skins, 
but  the  poorer  classes  of  the  male  population  wore  little 
clothing  other  than  a  small  cape  of  skin  over  their  shoulders. 
Women  were  more  particular  in  their  dress,  and  never 
allowed  even  their  faces  to  be  seen  when  they  went  abroad; 
they  wore  an  ample  dress  of  cow-skin  wrapped  round  the 
body,  and  put  a  second  mantle  over  their  head  when  they  left 
the  house.  The  king  lived  in  a  hut  in  his  kraal  in  a  manner 
similar  to  his  chiefs,  and  had  his  favourite  cows  about  him; 
his  courts  were  held  in  the  open  under  a  shady  tree;  a  rug 
of  cow-hides  well  dressed  until  they  were  quite  soft,  was  spread 
on  the  ground  for  him  to  sit  on ;  behind  him  sat  a  few  of  his 
wives  and  his  special  guard,  and  in  front  of  him  chiefs  and  other 
persons  assembled  for  business  transactions,  or  merely  to  listen 
to,  and  take  part  in  the  discussions.  No  one  was  permitted 
to  bring  any  weapon  into  an  assembly,  but  everyone  who 
approached  the  king  laid  his  arms  down  at  a  distance,  and 
left  them  there  until  the  meeting  ended ;  to  have  retained  any 
weapon  would  have  occasioned  suspicion,  and  have  rendered 
the  man  liable  to  be  seized  and  punished  as  a  person  with 
evil  intentions  on  the  king's  life.  It  was  believed  that  any 
man  who  had  been  deprived  of  his  cows  for  any  reason  was 
likely  to  attempt  the  king's  life  out  of  revenge  for  his  loss, 
and  on  this  account,  if  there  was  a  reason  for  taking  cattle 
from  a  man,  or  deposing  a  chief  from  office,  he  was  almost 
invariably  executed  and  thus  removed  out  of  the  way,  lest 
he  should  try  to  revenge  himself  on  the  king ;  if  his  life  was 
spared,  he  was  never  permitted  to  carry  weapons  in  the 
presence  of  the  king. 

As  might  be  expected,  these  assemblies  were  chiefly 
occupied  with  matters  concerning  cattle;  chiefs  came  to  give 


14—2 


POLYGAMY  AND  POLYANDRY  [ch. 


accounts  to  the  king  of  the  increase  and  of  the  health  of 
their  herds,  they  also  had  to  assure  him  that  the  animals 
were  being  well  treated,  and  that  their  number  was  not 
diminished  by  any  fault  of  the  herdsmen.  A  chief  had  a 
certain  amount  of  freedom  in  the  disposal  of  the  herd  under 
his  control,  he  might  exchange  a  number  of  cows  with  a 
person  of  another  clan  for  a  wife,  but  he  might  not  sell  any 
to  a  person  belonging  to  another  tribe,  nor  might  he  kill 
any  cows;  and  only  a  limited  number  of  bulls  might  be  killed 
during  each  year  for  sacrifice  or  food.  Among  the  poorer 
members  of  pastoral  people  a  man  found  it  difficult  to  obtain 
the  means  to  purchase  a  wife  and  still  to  retain  enough  for 
milk  to  support  himself  and  his  wife.  Families  were  obliged 
to  follow  the  tribal  customs  concerning  the  milk  diet,  hence 
vegetable  food  might  not  be  eaten  by  a  man  who  had  drunk 
milk  on  the  same  day.  To  overcome  the  difficulty  of  both 
obtaining  food  and  marrying,  several  men  who  were  clan 
brothers  would  combine  and  marry  a  woman,  who  was  shared 
by  all  these  men;  if  there  was  any  family,  the  children 
belonged  to  the  eldest.  There  appears  to  have  been  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  a  woman  as  the  wife  of  several  men, 
nor  were  there  any  quarrels  or  unhappiness  among  the  men  in 
such  marriages.  The  more  wealthy  people,  however,  did  not 
confine  themselves  to  one  wife,  for  they  could  afford  to  marry 
several  and  support  them,  and  there  were  no  rules  forbidding 
polygamy.  This  is  one  of  the  few  tribes  of  Africa  in  which 
polyandry  worked  side  by  side  with  polygamy  in  perfect 
harmony. 

Every  chief  was  free  to  divide  and  subdivide  the  herds  over 
which  he  had  charge  for  the  king ;  this  was  a  private  matter. 
Again,  every  important  chief  was  the  over-lord  of  smaller 
chiefs  appointed  by  the  king ;  over  these  latter  the  leading  chief 
acted  merely  as  the  king's  representative  to  see  that  all  went 
well,  and  that  due  care  was  exercised  over  the  king's  property; 
he  had  no  power  to  depose  a  chief,  nor  to  appoint  a  chief  to  any 
vacancy  that  might  occur:  this  was  the  king's  prerogative. 

When  a  man  wanted  to  buy  weapons,  or  to  enter  into  barter 


xiii]  MORALS  OF  PASTORAL  WOMEN  213 


transactions  with  a  person  of  another  tribe,  as,  for  instance, 
to  have  a  house  and  kraal  built,  he  might  do  so  by  selling 
butter  or  hides,  but  not  by  selling  cattle  or  milk.  Pastoral 
people  had  few  wants  which  needed  to  be  supplied  by  members 
of  other  tribes,  beyond  the  purchase  of  weapons,  ornaments, 
or  milk  vessels,  hence  they  were  not  often  drawn  into  barter 
transactions. 

Women  were  careful  to  guard  their  daughters  against 
having  undue  familiarity  with  men  before  marriage;  it  was 
a  great  reproach  to  the  mother,  and  derogatory  to  any  girl 
to  commit  an  immoral  act  before  marriage ;  indeed  so  grave 
was  the  offence  that,  if  any  young  woman  had  a  child 
before  marriage,  she  became  an  outcast  whom  no  man 
would  marry.  Such  cases  of  immorality  were  most  rare  owing 
to  the  strength  of  public  opinion,  and  men  paid  a  high 
tribute  to  the  honour  of  young  women.  Dutiful  obedience 
from  a  wife  was  expected  by  her  husband;  if  any  woman 
used  unbecoming  language  to  her  husband,  she  laid  herself 
open  to  trial  in  the  public  court.  Should  she  be  proved  to 
be  of  a  quarrelsome  turn,  the  court  sentenced  her  to  be  taken 
to  a  priest  who  lived  on  the  shore  of  a  particular  lake,  because 
she  was  considered  to  be  suffering  from  a  physical  complaint. 
The  priest  treated  the  woman  medically;  to  cure  her  disease 
she  was  given  a  purgative  and  an  emetic,  and  when  these  had 
operated,  she  was  washed  in  the  lake,  and  sent  home  to  her 
husband,  a  chastened  and  humbled  wife. 

Women  were  particular  about  their  dress;  no  woman  would 
think  of  leaving  her  house  without  covering  her  head  and 
face,  so  that  her  features  could  not  be  seen.  It  was  not 
etiquette  for  a  woman  to  walk  any  distance  without  resting 
frequently,  and  indeed  most  women  had  lost  the  ability 
to  go  more  than  a  few  yards  without  a  pause;  they  were 
carried  in  litters,  when  there  was  a  journey  to  be  made. 
When  out  visiting  friends  near  home,  they  walked  for  a  short 
distance  and  then  stopped  to  rest,  placing  their  hands  upon 
their  knees;  in  this  attitude  they  looked  peculiar  objects 
with  their  persons  covered,  more  like  animals  than  human 


214    BELIEF  IN  TRANSMIGRATION  OF  SOUL  [ch. 


beings.  Their  milk  diet  and  indolent  mode  of  life  gave  the 
women  rather  flabby  flesh,  which  caused  them  to  move 
slowly  and  with  difficulty. 

When  the  king  died,  he  was  not  spoken  of  as  dead,  because 
his  spirit  was  supposed  to  pass  into  the  form  of  a  lion,  nor 
might  his  name  be  mentioned  under  any  circumstances.  The 
body  of  the  king  was  taken  to  a  sacred  forest,  where  it  was 
kept  for  some  time,  and  it  was  considered  to  be  undergoing  a 
process  in  which  the  swelling  and  subsidence  of  the  stomach 
was  said  to  be  the  sign  of  rebirth;  when  the  swelled  body 
collapsed  a  lion's  cub  was  produced  by  the  priest,  who  stated 
that  it  was  the  reborn  king.  During  the  period  of  waiting 
for  the  cub  the  priest  daily  washed  the  body  of  the  king 
with  milk,  but  after  the  lion-cub  was  produced,  the  body  was 
buried  and  the  grave  received  no  attention.  The  lion-cub  was 
cared  for  and  nursed  with  the  utmost  tenderness,  and  fed 
on  beef  as  soon  as  it  was  able  to  eat.  Animals  from  the  royal 
herd  were  freely  supplied  for  this  purpose.  The  priest  who 
lived  in  the  forest  had  charge  of  a  number  of  lions  said  to  be 
the  kings  of  past  generations;  he  was  expected  to  hold 
communication  with  those  departed  kings  and  to  give  the 
message  to  the  reigning  king. 

When  the  lion-cub  was  old  enough  to  run  about,  it  was 
turned  into  the  forest,  and  was  free  to  mingle  with  the  other 
partly  tamed  beasts.  From  this  time  the  newly  elected  king 
sought  information  from  his  predecessor  through  the  priest, 
who  became  the  means  of  communication  with  the  dead. 

The  spirit  of  the  wife  of  a  king  was  supposed  at  death  to 
enter  into  a  leopard,  unless  she  had  been  childless,  in  which 
case  she  was  buried  without  any  care.  The  spirits  of  princes 
and  of  princesses  entered  into  pythons,  and  these,  together 
with  the  sacred  leopards,  had  their  special  place  of  residence, 
and  priests  whose  duty  it  was  to  feed  them  and  to  act  as 
mediums  with  the  spirits  in  them. 

Common  people  were  buried  inside  the  kraal  in  which  the 
death  had  taken  place;  a  grave  was  dug  in  the  dung  heap,  and 
after  the  proper  mourning  ceremonies  had  been  completed,  the 


xiii]  THE  POSITION  OF  WIDOWS  215 


relatives  left  the  place,  and  built  a  new  kraal  and  near  it 
a  shrine  for  the  ghost  of  the  departed  relative.  Widows 
frequently  sought  opportunity  to  commit  suicide  by  drinking 
poison  at  the  graves  of  their  husbands;  relatives  guarded 
them,  and  restrained  them  by  force  from  this  act.  There  were, 
however,  times  when  relatives  were  willing  to  give  the  ghost  of 
the  deceased  greater  honour  by  allowing  one  or  more  of  his 
widows  to  accompany  him  by  death  in  order  to  be  with  him 
in  the  spirit  world.  The  future  presents  no  dread  to  these 
simple  minded  people,  with  their  beliefs  of  a  future  life  lived 
under  conditions  not  unlike  those  of  the  present,  and  where 
therefore  the  husband  would  be  ready  to  care  for  his  wife, 
whereas  life  without  a  husband  is  full  of  terrors  for  a  widow. 

A  childless  widow  had  the  right  of  becoming  the  wife  of 
a  brother  of  her  deceased  husband  according  to  levirate 
custom,  and  her  first  born  son  became  heir  to  the  property  of 
the  deceased  and  was  called  his  child.  A  widow  who  had  a 
son  had  no  fear  of  her  position  not  being  secured,  because 
her  son  would  care  for  her,  and  she  was  anxious  to  see  him 
grow  up  to  manhood;  this  restrained  her  from  trying  to 
commit  suicide  at  her  husband's  funeral.  In  other  parts  of 
Africa  the  levirate  rule  also  exists;  the  deceased  man's  brother 
takes  the  widow  to  wife  if  she  is  childless,  and  the  first  son 
she  bears  becomes  the  son  of  the  deceased,  while  children 
born  later  are  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  second  husband. 
The  first  child,  when  old  enough,  inherits  the  property  of  the 
deceased  father.  In  some  instances  where  the  cows  have  been 
divided  among  clan  members,  the  first  calf  from  each  cow  is 
given  to  the  levirate  son.  In  the  Ziba  country  this  custom  is 
certainly  still  practised. 

WTien  our  short  visit  to  Ankole  ended,  we  were  able  to  take 
a  southern  route  back,  passing  through  Koki  instead  of 
returning  by  the  more  direct  road  to  Uganda.  The  path  lay 
almost  due  south  from  Mbarara,  the  capital  of  Ankole, 
through  tracts  of  country  used  entirely  for  pastoral  purposes, 
though  at  intervals  of  some  twenty  miles  there  were  small 
settlements  of  agricultural  people.    Most  of  the  district 


216  HERDSMEN  [ch. 

through  which  we  passed  was  wild,  uncultivated  land,  with 
hills  beautifully  clothed  with  small  timber  and  shrubs,  and 
valleys  with  abundant  grass  suitable  for  cattle.  The  few  small 
settlements  which  we  encountered  were  almost  entirely  occu- 
pied by  Mohammedan  Baganda,  who  had  settled  in  these 
places,  when  they  were  forced  to  flee  from  their  own  country 
during  the  rising  which  they  had  unsuccessfully  instigated. 
At  different  places  as  we  travelled  we  caught  glimpses  of  the 
Koki  Lake ;  though  this  is  only  a  small  sheet  of  water  when 
compared  with  the  other  great  lakes,  it  is  a  beautiful  and  useful 
lake,  being  several  miles  long  and  in  places  over  a  mile  wide. 
It  was  interesting  to  come  upon  large  herds  of  cattle  on  this 
journey,  and  to  see  members  of  the  pastoral  clans  living  their 
natural  pastoral  life ;  they  were  bands  of  men  who  devoted 
themselves  to  the  care  of  their  herds,  ready  to  move  their 
home  to  some  new  site,  when  they  considered  a  change 
of  pasturage  necessary  for  the  health  of  the  cows.  In  this  kind 
of  life,  living  as  they  do  with  their  cows  from  morning  until 
night,  the  men  get  to  know  each  cow  with  all  its  peculiarities 
of  temper,  and  they  notice  any  change  in  its  health ;  the  cows 
also  learn  to  know  the  voices  of  the  men,  and  respond  to  each 
call,  and  do  as  they  are  told.  The  kraal  seldom  consists  of  more 
than  a  few  thorny  shrubs  placed  between  the  huts,  which 
are  built  at  intervals,  to  encircle  a  space  into  which  the  cows 
are  driven  every  night,  thus  being  kept  from  straying. 
Usually  a  man  is  on  guard,  though  he  does  not  necessarily 
stand  outside,  but  from  his  hut  he  keeps  watch,  and  should 
any  wild  beast  approach,  he  is  warned  by  the  cows  becoming 
restive  and  snorting,  and  is  thus  able  to  rouse  his  companions 
to  assist  him  in  protecting  the  herd. 

The  huts  in  such  a  kraal  are  simple  structures,  beehive 
huts  placed  at  intervals  along  the  fence  which  encircles  the 
kraal ;  they  are  scarcely  high  enough  to  allow  a  man  to  stand 
upright  inside  at  the  highest  point,  and  scarcely  wide  enough 
to  enable  him  to  make  his  bed  and  stretch  his  limbs  by  night ; 
few  of  them  have  a  pole  to  support  the  roof.  The  frame  consists 
of  stout  sticks  dug  into  the  earth  in  a  circle,  bent  inwards, 


XIIl] 


COW  KRAALS 


217 


and  tied  together  at  the  apex ;  such  a  frame  is  strong  enough 
to  support  the  thatch;  the  doorway  opens  into  the  kraal, 
and  between  the  huts  the  thorny  shrubs  are  placed  to  form 
a  fence.  If  any  herdsman  is  married,  his  wife  is  the  person 
upon  whom  devolves  the  right  to  wash  the  milk  pots, 
and  to  churn  the  butter  and  make  it  up  into  packets  to 
be  sent  to  the  chief;  when  there  is  no  woman  in  a  kraal, 
the  men  manage  these  duties  themselves,  and  fumigate  the 
pots  with  scented  grass.  The  number  of  men  attached  to  a 
kraal  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  herd;  there  may  be  as 
many  as  twelve  men  for  a  large  herd,  and  only  three  or  four 
for  a  small  one.  Two  or  three  men  only  are  necessary  to 
guard  a  herd  of  even  a  hundred  cows  when  grazing;  the  other 
herdsmen  remain  behind  to  clear  the  kraal  of  dung,  to  spread 
in  the  sun  any  dung  required  for  fuel,  and  to  prepare  water 
for  the  herd  at  night,  should  it  be  necessary  to  draw  it.  In 
some  places  there  are  deep  water-holes  from  which  the  water 
is  drawn;  it  is  then  emptied  into  clay  troughs  for  the  cows  to 
drink  from,  before  entering  the  kraal.  The  men  who  remain 
in  the  kraal  also  have  charge  of  the  calves,  and  they  carry  milk 
and  butter  to  their  masters.  Herdsmen  receive  no  pay  for 
their  labour,  but  are  expected  to  take  a  certain  amount  of 
milk  and  butter  to  their  masters,  and  to  use  the  remainder  of 
the  milk  and  butter  from  the  herd  for  their  own  requirements. 
This  milk  and  butter  is  their  pay ;  but  a  good  master  some- 
times allows  a  herdsman  to  have  a  cow,  to  assist  him  to 
purchase  a  wife. 

A  fire  is  kept  burning  in  each  kraal  near  its  entrance 
by  day  and  by  night ;  the  fuel  for  this  fire  consists  of  dung, 
prepared  by  being  dried  in  the  sun,  and  stored  by  the  men 
who  remain  at  home,  while  their  companions  herd  the  animals 
at  pasture.  A  site  for  a  kraal  is  sought  near  water,  when 
it  is  possible  to  procure  such  a  place,  so  that  the  herds  can 
drink  before  they  enter  their  place  of  rest  for  the  night ;  no 
food  is  given  to  the  animals  during  the  night,  they  fast  until 
morning,  when  they  are  milked,  and  turned  out  to  graze  near 
the  kraal;  they  feed  their  young  before  they  go  away  for 


2i8  CYCLING  AMONG  MOUNTAINS  [ch. 


the  day.  It  was  impossible  for  us  to  remain  for  a  night  with 
any  of  these  herdsmen  at  a  kraal,  as  there  were  no  facilities 
for  porters  to  obtain  provisions,  and  we  had  no  food  with 
us;  we  had  therefore  to  move  on  to  the  nearest  village,  which 
in  every  case  was  some  miles  distant  from  the  kraal. 

On  this  journey  to  Koki  I  had  an  unpleasant  experience, 
when  riding  down  a  rather  steep  hill  into  a  valley.  It  was 
quite  early,  about  six  o'clock,  and  the  valley  was  still  shaded 
from  the  bright  sun.  I  ran  into  a  stream,  which  had  been 
bridged  but  where  there  was  a  break  in  the  middle  of  the 
bridge,  hidden  by  overhanging  grass;  the  bicycle  ran  into 
this  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  I  was  thrown  some  feet  from  the 
bicycle  on  to  my  shoulder  and  was  slightly  stunned,  but 
after  sitting  up  and  examining  my  bruises,  I  found  that 
no  bones  were  broken.  I  scrambled  to  my  feet  and  went 
back,  dragged  the  machine  from  the  stream,  and  was  glad 
to  find  that  it  was  little  the  worse  for  the  accident.  Though 
most  of  the  hills  were  much  too  steep  to  ride  up,  and  some- 
times all  the  strength  at  my  command  was  needed  to  push 
the  bicycle  to  the  summit,  I  had  a  rest  while  riding  care- 
fully down,  with  both  brakes  on,  keeping  a  watch  for  sharp 
dips  or  breaks  in  the  track,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  fall  over  into 
the  grass  when  I  might  save  the  machine  from  damage  and 
my  bones  from  being  broken.  This  is  possible  when  one  is 
alone,  but  it  is  sometimes  difficult  when  another  rider  comes 
behind  down  a  hill  and  loses  control  of  his  machine.  I  had  an 
unpleasant  experience  of  this  on  one  occasion  when  a  chief 
riding  behind  me  called  to  me  to  give  him  the  path;  there 
was  barely  time  for  me  to  drag  my  bicycle  into  the  grass, 
when  he  shot  past  and  was  hurled  into  an  acacia  bush  lower 
down  the  hill,  from  which  he  was  extricated  looking  more 
like  a  pincushion  full  of  pins  than  a  human  being.  The  chief 
had  lost  control  of  his  machine  and  was  unable  to  turn  at 
the  bend  in  the  road;  fortunately  no  bones  were  broken,  and 
his  boys  soon  picked  the  thorns  from  his  body. 

Koki  is  a  small  state,  which  a  few  years  ago  was  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom,  but  since  the  British  Protectorate  has 


xiii]  KOKI  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  219 

been  established,  it  has  become  a  state  of  Uganda.  In  the 
time  of  King  Mutesa  and  during  Mwanga's  reign  Koki  was 
tributary  to  Uganda,  paying  a  yearly  amount  in  cows  and 
iron  spades.  Though  the  area  does  not  exceed  that  of  one 
of  the  smaller  districts  in  Uganda,  the  people,  as  they 
governed  themselves,  naturally  valued  their  independence. 
The  people  are  now  only  partially  pastoral,  formerly  they  were 
entirely  so.  The  introduction  of  agricultural  pursuits  may 
be  due  to  intermarriage  with  members  of  agricultural  tribes 
and  the  incorporation  of  these  persons  into  the  tribe.  The 
pastoral  people  of  the  tribe  are  related  to  the  pastoral  tribe 
of  Bunyoro,  and  have  a  royal  family  of  which  they  are 
proud.  In  recent  years  some  of  the  better  class  women  and 
princesses  began  to  imitate  the  Baganda  women  in  tillage, 
especially  in  the  cultivation  of  plantains.  Women  do  the 
work  in  the  fields,  and  men  build  the  houses,  and  also 
are  the  herdsmen.  The  royal  family  still  retain  most  of  the 
milk  customs  and  habits  of  pastoral  people,  and  abstain 
from  a  vegetable  diet,  unless  they  are  in  urgent  need  of  food, 
in  which  case  they  refrain  from  drinking  milk  until  they  have 
fulfilled  the  prescribed  conditions  of  milk  taboo. 

The  country  is  marshy  and  has  a  small  lake,  upon  which 
there  are  a  few  dug-out  canoes  used  to  ferry  people  across 
the  water,  thus  saving  the  time  and  labour  of  walking  some 
miles  round  the  lake  to  their  homes.  It  is  the  custom  with  the 
royal  clan  that  the  firstborn  child  of  a  king  shall  be  a  girl; 
should  a  male  be  born,  he  is  killed  at  birth,  and  the  midwife 
says  that  the  child  was  born  dead.  The  present  ruler  is  an 
exception  to  this  custom,  for  he  was  the  firstborn  child  of 
his  father,  but  escaped  death  owing  to  the  introduction  of 
Christianity.  In  the  course  of  developing  its  work,  the  Uganda 
church  sent  a  catechist  to  Koki,  who  was  successful  in  reaching 
numbers  of  the  better  class.  Among  the  early  converts  was  the 
king  Kamswaga;  after  his  baptism  he  was  informed  of  the 
existence  of  his  son,  and  he  allowed  him  to  be  brought  to  his 
capital.  The  child  had  been  taken  into  the  country  at  the 
time  of  his  birth  and  placed  with  some  of  the  royal  herdsmen, 


220 


IRON  WORKING 


[CH. 


and  the  father  had  been  kept  in  ignorance  of  his  existence, 
and  told  that  the  child  was  still-born,  according  to  their  old 
custom.  There  are  instances  on  record  of  princes  having 
been  thus  taken  away  and  cared  for,  when  there  was  little 
hope  of  there  being  a  successor  to  the  king,  and  of  men 
having  come  forward  at  the  king's  death  to  prove  the  prince's 
legitimate  claim  to  the  throne.  In  this  case  the  introduction 
of  Christianity  removed  the  difficulty,  and  the  father  acknow- 
ledged his  son,  and  received  him  back  in  the  capital  during 
his  own  lifetime. 

The  capital  of  Koki  is  surrounded  by  high  hills  which  are 
full  of  iron  stone;  from  these  hills  in  olden  times  a  great 
part  of  the  iron  which  was  smelted  and  worked  for  weapons 
and  implements  of  domestic  life  used  to  be  quarried.  This 
part  of  the  country  was  the  chief  source  from  which  Uganda 
obtained  its  iron,  and  here  special  smiths  lived  who  forged 
iron,  which  was  then  sent  in  small  bars  to  the  country  smiths. 
An  old  Uganda  legend  says  that  Kalimera,  the  son  of  an 
early  king,  Chwa,  went  on  a  visit  to  Bunyoro,  and  there 
learnt  the  art  of  a  smith  and  sent  the  first  iron  implements 
into  Uganda.  It  is  quite  probable  that  a  prince  did  learn 
the  art,  because  every  king  for  many  years  past  has  had 
his  smithy  in  the  royal  enclosure  and  learnt  to  work 
iron  as  a  hobby,  but  another  fact  must  be  remembered  in 
connexion  with  the  introduction  of  iron,  namely  that  this 
part  of  Uganda  once  belonged  to  Bunyoro,  and  the  Baganda 
who  understand  smelting  belong  to  clans  which  were  left  in 
this  part  of  the  country  when  the  Baganda  annexed  it.  The 
clans  which  were  in  the  country  when  it  was  conquered 
have  been  included  in  the  Uganda  nation,  and  are  free  to 
marry  into  any  clan;  this  is  the  strongest  national  bond. 
These  iron  smelters  are  not  of  the  same  race  as  the  people  of 
Koki,  but  are  a  class  distinct  from  the  pastoral  people,  and 
live  on  a  vegetable  diet ;  still  they  pay  taxes  to  the  king  of 
Koki,  and  are  his  subjects,  working  in  his  country. 

Koki  is  one  of  the  districts  most  troubled  with  mosquitoes, 
which  abound  during  the  daytime.   In  most  places  it  is 


XIIl] 


BARK-CLOTH  TREES 


221 


safe  to  disregard  these  pests  during  the  daytime,  but  in  Koki 
even  during  the  bright  sunshine  they  seem  to  take  no  rest 
themselves  and  give  their  victims  but  little. 

Passing  on  through  Koki  into  the  western  part  of  Uganda, 
Budu,  we  come  into  what  was  one  of  the  most  important 
and  wealthy  districts.  Besides  having  iron  ore,  Budu  has 
also  some  of  the  best  trees  for  making  bark-cloth  and  is 
an  excellent  cattle  country.  King  Semakokiro,  who  lived 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  is  said  to  have 
compelled  all  his  people  to  cultivate  the  tree  which  yields 
the  bark,  from  which  the  so-called  cloth  is  made.  In  the 
district  known  as  Sango  in  Budu  trees  are  grown  which 
produce  the  finest  kind  of  bark  in  Uganda,  of  a  better 
quality  and  a  richer  colour  than  any  other ;  these  particular 
trees  do  not  grow  freely  in  other  places.  The  use  of  bark-cloth 
is  fast  disappearing  owing  to  the  introduction  of  unbleached 
calico,  which  is  of  a  stronger  texture,  more  durable,  and 
capable  of  being  washed.  The  better  class  Baganda  were 
glad  to  obtain  cotton  goods  which  could  be  washed,  because 
of  vermin;  bark-cloth  encouraged  this  pest,  to  the  great 
discomfort  of  the  native.  For  the  purpose  of  cleansing  it  was 
customary  to  fumigate  the  bark-cloth;  it  was  spread  over 
a  basket  framework,  under  which  a  small  fire  was  lighted 
and  grass  was  slowly  burned,  giving  off  volumes  of  smoke, 
the  heat  of  the  sun  meanwhile  causing  the  creatures  to  drop 
off.  The  smell  of  the  burnt  grass  on  the  garment  was  as 
pleasing  to  the  native  as  that  of  newly  washed  garments 
is  to  an  Englishman. 

It  is  a  pity  that  the  bark-cloth  industry,  which  was  so 
extensive  and  so  useful,  should  be  allowed  to  die;  if  only 
some  other  use  could  be  made  of  the  bark-cloth,  it  would  be 
an  advantage  to  the  natives,  who  would  reap  some  benefit 
from  the  trees  on  their  estates.  The  trees  grow  readily  and 
rapidly,  and  yield  annual  barks  of  good  quality  for  some 
seven  years;  they  require  no  cultivation. 

In  Budu  the  finest  kind  of  basketry  was  also  practised,  the 
baskets  being  made  from  the  young  leaves  of  the  wild  palm 


222 


BASKETRY 


[CH.  XIII 


trees.  This  industry  needs  protection  and  encouragement, 
otherwise  it  will  also  disappear.  Basket  making  was  confined 
almost  entirely  to  women,  and  was  a  means  by  which  poor 
women  were  able  to  obtain  the  many  little  things  which 
otherwise  they  could  not  have  procured.  Visits  to  these 
distant  parts  of  Uganda  were  made  by  me  during  vacations, 
and  the  men  who  acted  as  my  carriers  were  teachers  resting 
from  their  studies,  who  turned  these  journeys  to  profit;  they 
earned  money  thereby  for  their  clothing  and  other  purposes, 
and  they  were  useful  too,  as  these  tours  were  opportunities 
for  preaching  and  teaching.  The  ability  and  the  fidelity  of 
these  men  were  unsurpassed,  and  many  of  them  are  still 
doing  noble  work  as  teachers,  while  not  a  few  have  become 
native  pastors. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


LAKE  DWELLERS,  A  BANTU  TRIBE,  AND 
THE  BAKEDI,  A  NILOTIC  TRIBE 

THE  next  tribes  whom  I  will  mention  among  those 
encountered  in  the  short  journeys  which  I  made  into 
countries  adjacent  to  Uganda  are  two,  one  belonging  to  the 
group  of  tribes  in  the  north  and  the  other  to  those  in  the 
north-east  of  Uganda,  the  one  set  being  Bantu  lake  dwellers 
and  the  other  Nilotic. 

Where  the  River  Nile  is  crossed  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Lake  Kioga  in  Bunyoro,  there  are  to  be  found  many 
smaller  streams  which  wend  their  way  into  that  great  river, 
and  though  they  are  for  the  most  part  insignificant  when 
compared  with  that  mighty  stream,  yet  each  adds  its 
quota  to  the  volume  of  water,  and  is  of  great  value  to  the 
country  through  which  it  passes.  Some  of  these  rivers  widen 
out  in  places  and  form  pretty  lakes;  we  should  consider 
them  large  were  it  not  for  the  greater  Victoria  Nyanza, 
Albert,  and  Albert  Edward  Lakes  in  the  same  region,  which 
dwarf  some  really  fine  sheets  of  water.  Among  the  smaller, 
though  extremely  pretty,  lakes  we  must  place  Kioga;  it  is 
a  wide,  open  expanse  of  the  Mpologoma  River,  which  empties 
itself  into  the  Nile  near  Lake  Albert. 

The  Mpologoma  River  rises  on  the  southern  slopes  of  Mount 
Elgon,  and  rapidly  assumes  wide  proportions  owing  to  the 
amount  of  papyrus  which  grows  in  it  and  which  retards  the 
water  from  draining  off  rapidly  into  the  Nile.  In  few  places 
does  the  water  exceed  more  than  eight  or  ten  feet  in  depth, 
but  it  is  everywhere  wide,  in  many  places  fully  a  mile  in  width, 
and  it  has  a  rich  black  deposit,  which  is  constantly  being 
increased  as  the  heavy  rains  carry  into  it  the  surface  earth 
from  the  hills.  The  water  is  seldom  a  visibly  flowing  stream, 
though  it  is  never  quite  still;  it  has,  however,  a  slow  movement 
which  is  rarely  noticeable,  and  it  is  only  in  the  places  where  the 


224 


LAKE  DWELLERS 


[CH. 


channel  narrows  down  to  a  width  of  a  few  yards  and  is  deep, 
that  the  current  is  at  all  perceptible.  In  most  places  papyrus 
rises  to  a  height  of  some  fifteen  feet,  and  extends  from  bank 
to  bank  and  up  and  down  the  river  for  miles,  so  that  when 
it  is  viewed  from  any  eminence,  the  eye  rests  upon  a  sea  of 
green  with  feathery  tufts  of  brownish  coloured  seeds,  pretty 
to  look  upon,  but  terrible  to  encounter  when  crossing  the 
river.  In  this  forest  of  papyrus  numbers  of  busy  people  live ; 
their  huts  are  constructed  upon  the  floating  roots  of  the 
papyrus,  and  hidden  by  the  tall  grass  from  being  seen  at  any 
point  on  the  river  bank ;  the  principal  material  used  in  building 
the  huts  is  this  same  papyrus  grass.  The  foundation  of  a 
house  is  formed  by  a  large  root,  or  interlaced  roots  of 
papyrus;  the  strong  stems  of  the  grass  are  cut  down  and 
laid  on  this  layer  upon  layer  crossed  and  recrossed,  until  a 
firm  floor  several  feet  deep  is  formed,  into  which  the  stakes 
of  the  framework  can  be  inserted.  The  hut  frame  is  more 
like  a  huge  inverted  basket  than  anything  else  that  I  can 
picture;  this  is  thatched  with  common  grass  brought  from 
the  shore.  Inside  a  hut  the  floor  is  made  smooth  and  com- 
fortable with  small  papyrus  stems,  and  a  slab  of  thick  mud 
to  serve  as  a  fireplace  is  plastered  in  the  middle  of  the  floor. 
The  bedstead  is  a  wooden  frame,  often  raised  four  or  five  feet 
high,  to  ensure  its  being  above  the  water  line,  because  a  heavy 
fall  of  rain  on  the  hills  may  cause  the  water  to  rise  several 
feet  in  a  few  hours,  and  should  that  happen  during  the  night 
when  the  inhabitants  are  asleep,  there  would  be  a  danger  of  their 
being  drowned  before  the  papyrus  could  rise  to  the  new  level. 
The  inhabitants  say  that  sometimes  during  the  night,  when 
there  is  a  heavy  storm,  the  water  will  rise  until  it  is  as  high 
as  the  doorway,  too  high  for  them  to  get  out,  and  they  have 
to  cut  a  new  opening  and  crawl  from  the  bed  into  the  canoe, 
which  is  always  secured  near  the  door.  Such  inundations  do 
not  disturb  the  placid  temperament  of  these  people,  for  they 
know  that  the  water  will  rapidly  subside,  leaving  their  home 
little  the  worse  for  the  wetting.  They  go  about  their  fishing  and 
calmly  wait  for  the  water  to  fall  to  the  normal  height ;  they 


XIV] 


FLOATING  HOUSES 


225 


do  not  trouble  to  change  their  home  or  to  alter  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  interior. 

In  shallow  water  papyrus  often  becomes  rooted  and  will 
not  float  with  the  rapidly  rising  water,  which  is  the  reason 
why  houses  are  swamped;  whereas  in  deep  water  the  roots 
are  pendent  and  rise  or  fall  with  the  water.  On  the  lakes 
the  huts  are  often  carried  about  by  the  wind  or  any  current. 
Thus  on  Lake  Kioga  papyrus  tufts  may  be  scattered  about 
on  the  surface  or  gathered  into  one  mass;  they  may  be  seen 
one  day  on  one  side  of  the  lake,  and  the  next  day,  after 
a  strong  wind,  they  will  be  found  carried  a  mile  or  more 
away  to  the  other  side.  The  people  build  their  huts  on 
large  tufts  of  papyrus,  so  matted  together  that  there  is 
no  fear  of  their  being  divided  or  split  up  by  wind,  and  they 
are  carried  about  in  their  floating  homes  without  any 
feeling  of  insecurity.  In  the  rivers  the  huts  are  always  in 
fixed  locations  owing  to  the  immense  growth  of  grass  which 
extends  for  many  miles;  the  only  movement  of  these  latter 
huts  is  in  altitude  with  the  increase  or  decrease  of  water. 
These  huts  on  the  rivers  are  usually  built  some  distance 
from  the  fords  and  are  invisible  from  the  banks;  they 
have  long  waterways  to  them  and  can  only  be  reached 
by  canoe.  The  chief  of  a  district  has  his  own  special  street 
or  waterway  with  his  huts  for  his  wives,  and  the  home  of 
each  peasant  has  its  own  short  alley  branching  off  from  the 
main  waterway.  In  one  place  we  visited  the  chief  of  a  small 
community,  who  had  his  private  waterway  leading  from  the 
main  way;  over  the  entrance  to  this  way  was  an  arch 
made  of  papyrus  stems,  tied  together  at  the  top,  and  hung 
with  fetishes,  to  protect  him  from  the  danger  of  hostile 
invasion.  The  main  waterway  to  the  chiefs  house  was  a  fine 
course  some  ten  or  twelve  feet  wide,  and  we  passed  many 
side  branches  with  huts  in  them ;  at  some  of  the  huts  women 
were  sitting  in  the  doorways,  while  children  were  playing 
about  in  small  canoes  looking  peaceful  and  happy.  The  side 
way  in  which  the  chief  lived  was  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
long.  The  door  of  the  hut  opened  upon  the  water,  so  that 
R  u.  15 


226 


HOMES  OF  THE  BAKENE 


[CH. 


there  was  only  one  step  upon  which  to  land  and  enter  the 
hut.  When  a  man  has  more  than  one  hut  in  the  same  locality, 
he  usually  has  a  path  built  upon  papyrus  roots  connecting 
them  together,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  pass  from  one  to  the 
other  without  the  use  of  a  canoe. 

The  old  chief  whom  I  visited  was  most  communicative  and 
friendly,  ready  to  tell  me  about  his  people.  He  said  that  his 
parents  told  him  that  their  forefathers  had  come  in  the  first 
instance  from  Busoga;  they  originally  lived  on  the  banks 
of  rivers,  but  because  they  were  frequently  robbed,  and 
also  owing  to  some  of  their  relatives  having  been  captured  and 
enslaved,  they  decided  to  build  their  houses  upon  papyrus 
in  the  river,  and  from  that  time,  many  generations  ago,  they 
had  lived  in  floating  houses.  There  may  be  some  truth  in 
this  tradition,  though  it  does  not  seem  possible  to  recognise 
these  people  as  being  closely  related  to  the  Basoga;  the  great 
differences  of  totems  and  also  of  many  customs  combat 
such  an  idea.  Most  of  the  Bakene  whom  we  met  spoke 
Luganda  freely,  but  this  may  readily  be  accounted  for  by 
their  contact  with  Baganda  traders  who  cross  the  ferries 
on  their  trading  expeditions. 

The  chief  was  having  a  new  hut  constructed  a  few  yards 
distant  from  his  old  one;  the  frame  of  it  was  complete,  so 
that  it  was  possible  to  gain  an  idea  of  their  method  of 
building.  The  description  given  of  an  inverted  wicker  basket 
fully  describes  the  framework.  One  interesting  feature  in 
the  construction  of  the  hut  was  a  hole  in  the  roof  at  the  apex 
to  let  out  the  smoke ;  this  is  the  only  tribe  I  have  observed 
in  Africa  who  make  any  outlet  in  a  hut  for  smoke.  The 
river  abounds  with  mosquitoes,  which  are  active  even  during 
the  day,  but  these  people  do  not  seem  to  mind  them,  nor 
do  they  suffer  from  their  bites;  possibly  the  flies  are  at 
present  innocuous.  It  was  interesting  to  see  some  goats 
living  in  these  huts;  they  were  feeding  near  the  chief's  hut, 
walking  on  the  papyrus  roots,  and  picking  creepers  from  the 
stems  of  the  growing  papyrus ;  they  are  taken  to  graze  on  the 
land  during  the  day,  and  brought  back  to  rest  at  mid-day 


xiv]         MODE  OF  LIFE  ON  LAKE  KIOGA 


227 


and  to  sleep  at  night;  they  appeared  perfectly  satisfied  and 
happy  on  their  floating  home.  The  food  of  the  people  consists 
chiefly  of  fish,  though  they  exchange  sun-dried  fish  for  millet 
and  have  a  meal  of  porridge  once  a  day  when  possible ;  their 
chief  occupation  is  fishing,  though  a  few  of  the  people  give 
some  time  to  cultivating  small  plots  of  land  near  their  homes. 
Fish  traps  bring  in  the  greatest  supply  of  fish,  but  the  people 
know  the  use  of  lines  and  hooks,  and  to  a  limited  degree 
these  are  used ;  large  quantities  of  fish  are  dried  in  the  sun 
and  smoked  over  wood  fires  for  market — they  often  carry 
them  some  miles  to  favourable  markets. 

On  Lake  Kioga  we  were  fortunate,  when  crossing,  to  see 
some  of  the  homes  and  also  many  of  the  people  who  were  busy 
fishing.  In  most  cases  a  house  occupied  its  own  separate  clump 
of  papyrus  roots  and  was  independent  of  other  houses;  the 
house  floats  about  with  every  change  of  wind,  but  the 
inhabitants  are  indifferent  as  to  the  locality  of  the  home, 
because  the  canoe  is  their  means  of  traversing  the  lake, 
and  it  is  always  secured  to  the  house  door  ready  for  any 
emergency,  and  can  be  drawn  up  to  the  door  when  wanted. 
It  was  a  pretty  sight  to  see  young  children  as  happy  on  the 
water  as  other  children  are  on  land.  A  child  learns  to  love  its 
watery  surroundings,  and  seems  to  become  amphibious;  it  can 
paddle  its  canoe  and  it  can  also  swim  about  almost  as  well  as  it 
can  walk.  Some  of  the  canoes  used  were  very  flimsy  craft, 
little  more  than  a  plank,  on  which  the  occupant  sat,  the 
water  passing  over  his  limbs  as  he  paddled  about.  The  most 
that  can  be  said  for  these  craft  is  that  they  save  the  oc- 
cupant the  slight  exertion  of  swimming,  otherwise  there  is 
little  gain  in  their  use.  On  this  lake  there  are  many  shrines 
built  on  small  tufts  of  papyrus,  presumably  for  the  ghosts  of 
relatives.  Our  time  did  not  permit  of  a  lengthy  stay,  so  we 
had  to  leave  these  people,  after  gathering  a  few  ideas  of  their 
habits  of  life;  we  hope  for  some  future  opportunity  for  a 
further  study  of  their  social  life.  They  naturally  would  not 
tell  a  stranger  much  about  themselves,  and  like  other  Bantu 
tribes  they  were  both  suspicious  and  reticent.  These  lake 


15—2 


228 


SOME  NILOTIC  PEOPLE 


[CH 


dwellers  are  said  to  reside  in  numbers  on  various  small  lakes 
in  this  region,  but  there  was  not  time  to  venture  farther 
afield  to  hunt  them  out. 

Bakedi,  as  the  Bateso  are  more  commonly  called  by  their 
neighbours,  means  naked  people;  they  are  so  named  because 
both  men  and  women  of  all  ages  live  in  a  nude  state;  they 
belong  to  the  Nilotic  tribes  of  the  people,  but  form  quite  a 
distinct  group  from  the  Bantu,  who  live  among  them,  but  keep 
separate  from  them  in  religious  and  social  life.  In  many  respects 
they  are  more  primitive  than  the  Bantu  tribes,  and  in  religious 
matters  they  are  decidedly  behind  their  neighbours.  It  was  im- 
possible tofind  whether  they  had  any  knowledge  of  the  Creator; 
not  even  a  term  for  a  superior  being  could  be  discovered,  though 
there  were  traces  of  worship  of  the  dead,  which  worship 
appeared  to  be  the  only  form  of  cultus  among  the  tribe.  In 
the  custom  followed  for  rain-making  a  form  of  magic  is 
practised  with  what  may  be  a  trace  of  worship;  it  is  as  follows : 
a  place  is  chosen  for  making  a  feast  in  the  neighbourhood, 
the  chief  provides  animals  for  the  feast,  and  a  dance  is  held. 
The  dance  and  feast  are  thought  to  influence  the  elements  in 
some  way,  there  being  an  indistinct  and  hazy  belief  in  a  rock 
spirit.  Though  there  is  this  form  of  magic  in  rain-making, 
and  a  rude  form  of  worship  of  the  dead,  still  there  seems 
to  be  a  lack  of  any  idea  of  a  supreme  being.  A  Muganda 
teacher  who  had  spent  some  years  among  the  people  and 
had  been  able  to  translate  parts  of  the  Gospels  into  the 
Teso  language,  said  that  he  had  not  found  any  term  used  for 
the  Creator  or  for  a  supreme  being,  and  had  been  obliged  to 
adopt  a  term  from  his  own  language. 

Among  this  particular  Nilotic  tribe,  the  Bateso,  there  are 
two  or  three  superior  chiefs,  each  of  whom  rules  a  large  district 
and  acts  as  magistrate  to  his  own  people.  The  land  belongs 
to  families  who  hold  it  as  their  freehold  property;  they  base 
their  claim  upon  the  fact  that  they  have  tilled  it  for  years, 
and  that  as  it  passed  to  them  from  their  forefathers,  so  they 
are  to  pass  it  on  to  their  children.  Millet,  sweet  potatoes, 
cereals,  such  as  peas,  beans,  and  marrows,  are  the  chief 


XIV] 


HOMES  OF  THE  NILOTIC  PEOPLE 


229 


foodstuffs  cultivated,  and  many  villages  also  possess  cattle, 
goats,  sheep,  and  fowls.  The  dwellings  are  round  huts,  with 
walls  of  stakes  from  three  to  four  feet  above  the  ground.  The 
stakes  are  driven  a  few  inches  into  the  earth;  the  builder 
marks  out  a  circle  on  the  ground,  cutting  a  shallow  trench  in 
a  circle  which  is  fairly  accurate,  considering  that  he  uses 
nothing  but  his  eyesight ;  into  this  circular  trench  he  drives 
or  inserts  his  stakes  three  or  four  inches  deep,  leaving  a  space 
for  the  doorway.  In  the  centre  of  the  hut  a  stout  pole  is 
erected;  it  is  sunk  two  or  three  feet  into  the  ground,  and 
is  tall  enough  to  give  the  necessary  angle  for  the  roof 
pitch.  From  this  central  pole  the  rafters  radiate  to  the  walls; 
they  are  bound  to  the  pole  by  strips  of  bark,  and  are  like  the 
ribs  of  an  umbrella.  Across  these  rafters  smaller  pliable 
sticks  are  tied,  running  at  equal  distances  from  the  wall 
circle  and  diminishing  in  size  as  they  near  the  central  pole. 
The  thatch,  which  consists  of  grass  cut  in  lengths  and 
tied  in  small  bundles,  is  laid  on  the  roof  from  the  eaves,  and 
has  the  ends  kept  even  and  secured  to  the  rafters  beneath. 
After  the  first  layer  of  grass  has  been  put  on  the  roof  at  the 
eaves,  a  second  layer  is  laid  a  few  inches  higher,  and  its  ends 
form  a  ridge  as  it  rests  on  the  lower  layer;  this  arrangement 
looks  neat  and  has  somewhat  the  appearance  of  slates  over- 
lapping each  other  on  a  roof. 

Families  live  in  groups  of  huts  clustered  together,  without 
any  attempt  to  form  roads  between  them,  inside  a  growing 
fence,  which  forms  a  cattle  kraal.  There  are  often  twenty  or 
more  families  living  in  one  of  these  enclosures,  and  the  cows 
wander  about,  unless  they  are  confined  in  a  small  square  to  one 
side,  leaving  the  children  room  to  play.  There  is  no  rule  for 
restricting  the  number  of  inmates  in  a  hut ;  age  alone  causes 
the  bigger  girls  to  marry  and  to  leave  the  parental  roof.  The 
people  till  plots  of  land  near  by,  and  also  claim  any  timber 
to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  their  fields.  Timber  for  fuel  and 
for  building  purposes  is  scarce  in  this  particular  part  of  the 
country,  and  the  utmost  care  is  exercised  in  cutting  it  for 
any  purpose  whatever. 


230      STRANGE  IDEAS  OF  ORNAMENTATION  [ch. 


There  is  a  strange  custom  of  ornamentation  among  the 
women;  they  pierce  the  tip  of  the  tongue  and  thread  a  small 
ring  of  iron  or  brass  through  it,  and  the  presence  of  this  ring 
does  not  appear  to  impair  speech  nor  to  cause  discomfort  when 
eating.  I  was  informed  that  this  was  done  for  purposes  of 
ornament  only,  and  that  it  was  not  ceremonial,  but  I  am 
myself  inclined  to  think  that  it  belongs  to  initiation  cere- 
monies, and  is  therefore  ceremonial. 

The  lower  lip  is  also  pierced  by  many  women  to  admit 
a  stone  some  two  inches  long  and  half  an  inch  thick,  tapering 
slightly  to  a  blunted  end;  the  stones  are  generally  white 
granite,  rubbed  smooth  with  a  slight  taper,  and  they  fit 
tightly  into  the  hole  in  the  lip  and  stand  horizontally  to 
the  mouth.  Many  women  pierce  the  ears  with  numbers  of 
small  holes  round  the  helix  and  wear  a  small  ring  of  iron 
threaded  through  each  hole.  Another  method  of  decoration 
is  to  pierce  the  flesh  on  the  chest  by  pinching  it  up  and 
boring  a  small  hole,  and  to  thread  a  small  iron  or  brass  ring 
through;  the  rings  are  kept  bright  by  the  frequent  applica- 
tion of  oil  to  the  body,  rubbed  in  with  the  palm  of  the 
hand. 

The  features  of  the  country  are  very  different  from  those  of 
Uganda ;  here  there  arelargerocky  hills  with  enormous  boulders 
lying  in  all  manner  of  positions,  as  though  they  had  been  cast 
up  by  earth  eruptions,  or  dropped  from  the  crest  of  a  wave. 
Some  of  the  stones  weighing  several  tons  seem  to  be  resting 
on  others  in  the  most  precarious  positions,  especially  those  on 
hills,  which  look  as  though  they  must  topple  over  with  a  breath 
of  wind.  The  country  is  not  so  moist  as  that  of  Uganda,  the 
drainage  is  more  rapid,  and  there  is  a  more  defined  tropical 
rainfall;  the  ordinary  grass  is  not  so  rich,  there  are  few  forests 
of  any  size,  and  trees  almost  disappear  when  the  water  courses 
are  left  behind  for  the  higher  undulating  land.  The  country 
presents  on  the  whole  a  much  less  inviting  appearance  than 
most  parts  of  Uganda,  and  is  suited  for  a  different  kind  of 
cultivation.  The  British  Government  placed  Baganda  chiefs 
over  these  Bateso  some  years  ago  when  the  country  was  occupied 


XIV] 


VISITED  BY  A  THIEF 


231 


by  the  English,  and  a  more  systematic  form  of  government 
was  established  by  these  chiefs.  It  was  the  task  of  the  principal 
Muganda  chiefs  to  bring  the  country  into  peace  and  harmony 
with  other  parts  of  the  Protectorate,  and  they  have  done 
their  work  well.  They  have  gained  the  confidence  of  the 
people  and  made  friends  with  them,  while  they  have  taught 
them  to  cultivate  cotton  and  rubber,  to  make  roads,  and  to  do 
other  work  for  the  civilisation  of  the  district,  thus  uplifting 
a  tribe  and  redeeming  a  country,  in  addition  to  bringing 
about  a  sound  system  of  government,  and  making  it  safe 
to  pass  through  a  people  hitherto  wild. 

During  my  visit  to  this  province  I  was  robbed  of  both 
clothes  and  money  one  night ;  it  was  the  first  and  only  time 
that  I  have  been  robbed  during  my  many  years  of  African 
travels  and  life.  I  was  staying  in  a  Government  rest-house 
which  had  neither  doors  nor  windows,  but  only  three  bare 
rooms  and  an  open  space  on  the  fourth  side ;  I  had  been  told 
by  the  missionary  living  in  the  place  that  there  were  no  thieves, 
and  I  had  relaxed  my  usual  precautions  against  any  attempt 
to  be  robbed.  During  the  evening  as  I  suffered  from  a  cold 
and  was  a  little  feverish,  I  took  a  sleeping  draught  and  went 
early  to  bed.  I  was  disturbed  at  half-past  ten  by  a  noise 
which  I  thought  came  from  a  dog  in  my  room;  for  a  few 
moments  I  tried  to  drive  the  dog  away  without  getting  out 
of  bed  or  lighting  a  candle,  but  after  a  few  futile  efforts 
I  got  up,  when  to  my  surprise  the  box  on  which  my  candle 
stood  was  snatched  away,  the  candle  and  matches  were 
thrown  under  the  bed,  and  before  my  boys  could  be  roused 
and  could  respond  to  my  call,  the  thief  had  dragged  the 
box  out  of  the  room,  and  was  running  off  in  the  distance 
with  some  confederate,  who  had  been  waiting  outside.  The 
boys  were  in  the  next  room  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  house, 
but  natives  sleep  soundly  and  require  a  vast  amount  of 
waking,  and  then  a  little  time  to  collect  their  thoughts;  and 
this  gave  the  thief  a  start.  Fortunately  one  suit  of  clothes 
was  left  in  another  part  of  the  room,  and  enough  money  in  the 
pockets  to  enable  me  to  continue  my  journey  of  some  two 


232 


A  DANGEROUS  THIEF 


[CH. 


hundred  miles,  and  to  visit  several  mission  stations.  The  chief 
of  Ngora  and  all  his  people  expressed  their  great  regret  the 
next  day  when  they  heard  of  my  loss,  and  they  sent  men  in  all 
directions  to  try  to  discover  the  thieves,  but  all  that  could  be 
found  was  the  empty  iron  box  thrown  away  in  the  swamp, 
and  a  little  farther  a  few  odd  garments,  which  had  been 
discarded  as  useless,  together  with  some  drugs.  Some  months 
later  the  thief  was  caught  in  Busoga  in  possession  of  some 
of  the  stolen  goods;  he  turned  out  to  be  a  notorious  Musoga 
robber  who  was  wanted  for  murder ;  and  after  being  tried  by 
the  British  Government,  he  was  condemned  to  death  and 
hanged.  It  was  perhaps  a  fortunate  circumstance  that  I 
could  not  get  out  of  bed  in  time  to  grapple  with  the  man, 
for  he  would  most  probably  have  used  his  knife,  as  he  had 
done  before  when  house-robbing,  and  as  he  did  later  when  he 
entered  houses  to  steal  and  was  disturbed  by  the  inmates. 

The  Bateso  are  not  addicted  to  theft,  and  did  not  expect 
to  be  saddled  with  thieves  and  burglars  from  other  countries. 
As  a  nation,  they  are  a  quiet,  inoffensive  people  and  seldom 
fight  or  go  to  war.  Their  past  records  recount  only  tribal 
wars,  which  have  arisen  from  women  having  been  decoyed 
or  captured,  when  going  to  work  or  returning  from  their 
fields;  another  cause  for  fighting  was  that  land  had  been 
appropriated  which  they  claimed  as  family  property,  and 
as  they  failed  to  obtain  their  rights  peaceably,  they  resorted 
to  arms.  In  such  fights  the  women  are  said  to  have  taken  a 
part  by  bringing  pots  of  beer,  and  standing  in  the  rear  of 
the  battle,  whence  they  encouraged  their  husbands,  and  also 
ministered  to  their  wants.  These  sudden  calls  to  arms  to 
contest  the  claims  of  justice  were  usually  settled  within  a 
day,  rarely  with  more  serious  casualties  than  a  few  bruises 
or  spear  wounds.  After  such  a  display  of  force  the  offenders 
would  pay  a  fine,  and  settle  the  strife,  with  the  necessary 
compensation  for  causing  such  trouble. 

A  word  may  be  said  about  the  nudity  of  pagan  tribes  of 
Africa.  We  who  live  in  Western  countries  are  apt  to  think  such 
people  utterly  immoral;  but  this  is  a  mistake,  for  the  lack 


XIV] 


IDEAS  OF  MORALITY 


233 


of  clothing  does  not  mean  that  the  tribes  are  depraved, 
though  it  points  to  a  primitive  condition.  Morality  depends 
rather  upon  the  standard  with  which  these  people  regard 
marriage  and  sex  relations  and  upon  their  ideas  of  purity. 
We  must  study  their  social  customs  before  we  can  gauge 
their  moral  condition.  In  most  cases  we  shall  find  that  men 
pay  great  respect  to  married  women,  and  seldom  try  to 
encroach  upon  their  rights;  on  the  other  hand  among  a  few 
tribes  young  women  live  a  free  life,  without  any  restraint  on 
their  sexual  relations  with  men,  until  marriage  takes  place. 
Previous  to  marriage,  nothing  which  a  girl  does  short  of 
becoming  a  mother  is  considered  improper.  In  other  tribes 
the  real  anxiety  is  to  ascertain  who  is  the  father  of  a  child, 
and  to  get  him  to  take  charge  of  the  expectant  mother  until 
the  child  is  born;  there  is  no  shame  or  blame  cast  upon  the 
girl.  Men  invariably  take  a  girl  to  wife  under  these  circum- 
stances, and  the  young  woman  suffers  no  reproach  from  her 
parents  or  friends  for  her  conduct.  Even  when  a  man  refuses 
to  marry  a  woman  who  has  a  child  which  he  acknowledges  to 
be  his  own,  he  provides  for  the  woman  until  the  child  is 
weaned,  when  he  pays  her  parents  a  sum  of  money,  and  she 
goes  back  to  them,  leaving  the  child  to  the  care  of  some 
member  of  his  clan.  The  young  woman  is  free  to  marry,  and 
is  not  disgraced  by  having  had  a  child,  nor  does  she  feel  any 
grievance  against  the  man  who  has  not  taken  her  to  wife. 
Once  again,  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  as  has  been  noted 
above  concerning  Ankole,  girls  are  carefully  guarded  until 
their  marriage,  but  after  that  has  taken  place,  the  married 
woman  is  expected  to  welcome  her  husband's  guests  to  her 
couch.  Before  Christianity  had  established  new  rules  of 
morality  in  accordance  with  its  faith,  there  were  only  a  few 
tribes  in  East  Africa  who  restrained  girls  from  having 
sexual  intercourse  with  men  before  marriage;  these  tribes 
were  chiefly  pastoral. 


CHAPTER  XV 


WANDERINGS  AMONG  THE  BAGESHU  AND  THE 
BASOGA  TRIBES 

IN  past  years  before  the  British  occupation  of  the  Nile 
Province  it  was  unsafe  to  travel  in  districts  inhabited  by 
Bageshu  without  an  armed  escort.  The  tribes  in  those  parts 
could  only  think  of  the  white  man  as  a  foe,  and  it  was  a 
laudable  action  to  attack  and,  if  possible,  to  kill  him.  Reports 
had  gone  forth,  spread  chiefly  by  the  Banyoro,  that  white 
men  only  sought  to  conquer  countries  for  purposes  of  plunder 
and  profit ;  hence  tribes,  shut  off  from  the  old  trade  routes, 
and  only  able  to  gain  information  from  neighbours  nearer 
Uganda,  formed  wrong  impressions  about  Europeans,  and 
tried  to  prevent  them  from  entering  their  country.  When  we 
passed  through  the  Bateso  country,  this  state  of  affairs  was 
changed,  and  it  was  possible  for  me  to  go  on  alone,  riding  my 
bicycle,  in  front  of  my  carriers,  without  fear  of  attack ;  indeed 
we  were  all  of  us  unarmed.  There  were  two  or  three  long 
marches  through  deserted  tracts  of  country,  where  wild  animals 
abounded,  which  were  said  to  be  dangerous  to  men  travelling 
alone;  lions,  buffaloes,  and  elephants  were  said  to  be  a  menace 
to  any  single  pedestrian.  But  in  none  of  these  places  did  I,  or 
my  special  runner  who  carried  my  light  refreshments,  suffer, 
though  we  were  often  separated  from  the  carriers  and  indeed 
from  each  other  by  some  miles.  The  carriers  could  not  keep 
pace  with  the  special  runner,  and  he  could  not  keep  pace  with 
the  bicycle  for  twenty  miles  while  carrying  the  necessary 
packet,  containing  a  few  utensils  for  cooking  a  meal  and  the 
provisions.  Yet  the  runner  was  seldom  more  than  a  mile  behind 
me,  and  there  was  little  to  be  gained  by  leaving  him  far  behind, 
hence  I  often  cycled  at  a  rate  of  only  six  miles  an  hour,  so  that  he 
could  keep  near  me  at  his  steady  trot.  The  peaceable  state  in 
the  country  has  been  brought  about  through  British  occupa- 
tion ;  a  wise  and  tactful  Muganda  chief,  Kakungulu,  was  placed 


CH.  xv]      BAGANDA  AS  BRITISH  AGENTS  235 


over  the  country,  and  without  resorting  to  arms  in  a  single 
instance  he  has  been  able  to  bring  every  chief  into  happy 
relations  with  the  Government.  Roads  were  made  into  every 
part  of  the  district  from  one  chief's  residence  to  another,  and 
Baganda  chiefs  were  established  in  each  district  to  rule,  collect 
taxes,  and  organise  cotton  and  rubber  plantations.  Most  of  the 
chiefs  appointed  were  Christian  Baganda,  who  built  their  little 
mud  and  wattle  churches,  and  began  a  system  of  daily  services, 
to  which  numbers  of  the  Bateso  youths  went.  These  youths 
proved  apt  scholars,  and  soon  began  to  learn  to  read  and 
write;  as  I  passed  through  the  country,  I  found  in  various 
places  boys  who  assembled  daily  for  reading  and  general 
instruction,  and  at  some  of  the  places  there  were  boys 
studying  to  become  catechumens. 

Fortunately  for  me  the  weather  was  good  during  the 
journey,  for,  as  stated  above,  I  had  lost  all  my  clothing; 
I  did  not  once  suffer  from  wet  clothes,  and  consequently 
escaped  colds  and  fever.  Mount  Elgon  was  reached  without 
further  adventure  after  my  escapade  with  the  thief;  and  there 
at  Ngora  I  met  an  old  friend,  Mr  Ormsby,  the  District 
Commissioner,  who  has  since  died  from  haematuria.  He  was 
one  of  those  quiet,  unassuming  Englishmen,  who  do  much 
good  work  without  any  ostentation,  and  pass  away  scarcely 
known  to  the  outer  world,  and  yet  sadly  missed  by  those 
who  know  them.  Mr  Ormsby  did  a  splendid  work  among 
the  wild  tribes  round  Elgon  and  beyond  to  the  border  of 
Abyssinia,  he  gained  the  good  opinion  of  the  natives,  and 
instilled  in  them  such  confidence  of  the  English,  that  they 
welcomed  English  rulers  to  govern  them  and  their  states, 
and  became  loyal  British  subjects.  While  he  was  a  capable 
administrator  in  his  office,  he  was  also  a  sympathetic  friend 
to  the  native ;  he  would  sit  in  the  evening  over  a  wood  fire, 
and  talk  to  the  poorest  peasants,  enter  into  their  difficulties, 
and  explain  away  their  fears  and  perplexities. 

The  Bageshu,  the  tribe  now  encountered  on  Mount  Elgon, 
were  said  to  be  treacherous,  so  that  it  was  inadvisable  for  me  to 
leave  the  beaten  tracks  and  hunt  for  information  respecting  the 


236  CAVES  ON  MOUNT  ELGON  [ch. 

people  and  their  customs;  in  fact  my  friend  Ormsby  asked 
me  not  to  go  among  the  people  at  all.  He  gave  me  all  the 
information  he  could  concerning  social  customs,  and  helped  me 
especially  in  the  matter  of  the  caves  which  were  reported 
to  be  on  Elgon.  The  caves,  mentioned  by  former  travellers  as 
having  been  inhabited  by  natives  in  the  past,  were  an  object 
of  interest  to  me,  and  it  was  my  intention  to  visit  them ;  but 
my  friend  assured  me  nowhere  in  his  district  were  there  any 
caves  of  note  or  of  value  to  science,  so  far  as  he  had  discovered, 
and  that  he  had  been  over  the  mountain  several  times  and 
had  frequently  camped  on  it,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
investigations.  He  further  stated  that  snow  did  not  lie 
continually  upon  the  summit,  and  that  the  many  waterfalls 
which  dash  down  the  rocky  sides  for  some  hundreds  of  feet, 
looking  magnificent,  are  the  outlets  from  springs  upon  the 
mountain  top,  where  there  are  several  pools;  and  are  not  due 
to  melting  snow. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  discover  that  the  Bageshu  were 
cannibals;  this  fact  was  ascertained  from  a  description  of 
death  and  the  disposal  of  the  dead  given  me  by  a  man  who 
was  an  authority  in  his  clan.  He  said  that  no  burial  ever 
took  place  among  them,  and  that  if  any  person  attempted 
to  bury  the  dead,  the  body  would  soon  be  dug  up  during 
the  night  by  animals.  The  description  which  he  gave  of  the 
powers  and  astuteness  of  wild  animals  aroused  my  suspicion, 
especially  when  I  noticed  the  undisturbed  grave  of  a  white 
man,  so  that  when  a  second  man  on  being  questioned 
gave  a  different  account,  and  when  asked  the  direct  question 
admitted  that  the  members  of  the  next  clan  ate  portions 
of  the  dead,  it  became  comparatively  easy  to  obtain  fuller 
information  as  to  the  ceremonial  nature  of  cannibalism.  The 
members  of  one  clan  accused  another  clan  of  cannibalism; 
the  members  of  the  accused  clan  professed  their  ability  to 
explain  the  custom,  though  they  denied  practising  it 
themselves,  and  accused  the  members  of  the  first  clan. 
They  would  not  say  more  than  that  old  women  went  out 
after  dark,  cut  up  the  dead  body,  which  had  been  placed 


xv]  CEREMONIAL  CANNIBALISM 


on  waste  ground  near  the  village  at  sunset,  and  returned 
with  special  portions  of  it.  They  carried  these  portions  into 
the  village  and  cooked  them  during  the  night,  whereupon 
a  feast  was  made,  to  which  only  special  members  of  the  clan 
were  admitted;  the  object  of  the  meal  was  said  to  be  the 
pacification  of  the  ghost.  The  remains  of  the  body  were  then 
left  to  the  wild  animals  and  carnivorous  birds,  which  soon 
devoured  them. 

From  this  account,  as  it  was  related  to  me,  and  confirmed 
by  different  men,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  feasts 
are  ceremonial  feasts  in  honour  of  the  dead.  The  ghost  is 
believed  to  remain  in  the  locality,  and  large  stones  are  placed 
on  the  small  verandah  near  the  door  of  the  hut  in  which 
the  deceased  lived,  and  are  regarded  as  the  dwelling-place 
of  the  ghost ;  beer  and  at  times  a  little  food  is  placed  near  by 
in  some  vessel  for  its  use. 

Married  women  wear  a  grass  girdle  which  passes  between 
the  legs;  it  is  a  mere  pretence  of  clothing,  more  a  token 
that  the  woman  has  entered  the  estate  of  matrimony  than 
anything  else;  unmarried  women  go  nude.  The  men  are 
allowed  to  wear  a  goat  skin  mantle  slung  round  the  neck, 
and  hanging  down  in  front,  after  they  have  performed  the 
initiation  ceremonies  and  have  been  admitted  into  full 
membership.  Women  also  undergo  a  special  initiation  cere- 
mony at  puberty,  while  those  of  either  sex  who  refuse  to  pass 
this  test  of  initiation  become  outcasts,  disowned  by  their 
clans.  Young  women  scarify  their  chests  and  foreheads  at 
puberty,  and  the  process  of  initiation  for  a  girl  is  a  long  and 
painful  undertaking,  often  resulting  in  dreadful  sores  which 
suppurate  for  months.  I  did  not  discover  that  a  woman  makes 
any  public  profession  of  adherence  to  ancient  tribal  customs. 
Men  refuse  to  marry  a  woman  who  has  no  scarifications,  and 
a  woman  refuses  marriage  with  a  man  who  has  failed  to 
undergo  the  initiation  test.  The  performance  of  these  cere- 
monies is  watched  by  hundreds  of  people,  and  any  sign  of 
fear  brands  the  person  a  coward.  A  man  who  has  failed 
in  fortitude  will  commit  suicide  rather  than  endure  the 


238 


INITIATION  CEREMONIES 


[CH. 


contempt  of  his  companions.  Those  members  of  a  clan  who 
refuse  to  undergo  the  initiation  rites  are  liable  to  be  ill  used 
or  even  killed,  without  protest  from  any  other  member 
of  the  clan.  Both  men  and  women  pierce  the  lower  lip 
for  the  insertion  of  a  lipstone,  which  is  about  two  inches 
long  and  half  an  inch  in  diameter;  the  stone  is  only  worn 
by  the  person  when  fully  dressed  in  all  the  finery  of  crude 
ornaments  and  bangles,  but  at  other  times  the  hole  in  the 
lip  is  left  exposed. 

The  huts  of  these  people  are  clustered  together  in  groups, 
and  such  a  cluster  forms  a  village;  they  are  inhabited  by 
men  of  the  same  clan  who  call  themselves  brothers.  Members 
of  different  clans  seldom  live  in  close  proximity  to  each 
other;  they  are  unable  to  exist  side  by  side  in  the  same 
village.  Each  hut  has  its  own  store-house  at  the  back  or 
near  by ;  these  are  small  huts  built  on  large  stones  or  wooden 
pillars,  and  thus  raised  one  or  more  feet  above  the  ground, 
to  be  free  from  damp  and  from  the  ravages  of  insects  or 
animals.  They  are  of  basket  work,  plastered  inside  with  mud 
and  cow-dung,  and  are  covered  by  a  movable  roof  like  a 
large  umbrella,  which  can  be  tilted  to  one  side,  to  enable  the 
owner  to  take  out  grain. 

There  are  frequent  quarrels  between  the  clans,  indeed 
they  are  always  ready  to  fight  whenever  they  meet,  having 
always  some  grievance  calling  for  settlement.  In  these 
quarrels  men  are  often  wounded,  sometimes  severely.  If  a 
man  dies  from  his  wounds,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  all  women 
relatives,  even  of  those  who  are  married  to  men  of  the  hostile 
clan  responsible  for  his  death,  to  go  to  the  place  of  mourning, 
leaving  their  husbands  for  the  time  being.  As  the  clans  are 
exogamous,  that  is  to  say  men  and  women  belonging  to  the 
same  clan  are  not  allowed  to  marry,  it  sometimes  happens 
that  the  wife  of  the  man  who  caused  the  death  is  a  sister  of 
the  dead  man;  this  circumstance  does  not,  however,  prevent 
her  from  going  to  the  place  of  mourning,  and  she  goes  readily, 
and  acts  as  though  her  husband  were  in  full  sympathy,  even 
though  he  may  have  deliberately  murdered  the  man.  The 


XV] 


BELIEF  IN  MAGIC 


239 


women  are  more  masculine  than  most  of  their  sex  among  the 
Bantu  tribes;  they  do  not  take  chastisement  from  their 
husbands  so  meekly  as  do  women  of  other  tribes,  indeed 
there  are  reports  that  women  have  stood  up  to  their  hus- 
bands, to  assert  their  equality  if  not  their  superiority,  and 
have  settled  their  disputes  by  free  fight,  in  which  the  women 
proved  superior  to  their  husbands. 

The  homes  of  these  people  are  crude,  lacking  any  attempt 
at  comfort;  they  are  only  shelters  from  the  cold  nights  and 
climatic  changes.  Men,  women,  and  children  lie  on  the  floor 
without  any  covering,  and  with  no  attempt  to  make  a  bed; 
the  only  warmth  is  that  from  the  wood  fire  and  that  which 
they  obtain  from  contact  with  each  other.  Though  lacking 
any  very  definite  religious  ideas,  they  are  superior  to  their 
neighbours  the  Bateso,  for  they  have  at  least  a  belief  in  a 
supreme  being  and  in  numbers  of  spirits  dwelling  in  trees, 
rocks,  and  water. 

Magic,  especially  in  connexion  with  rain-making,  is 
universally  practised  and  believed  to  be  of  great  value;  it 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  rain-makers  who  are  an  important 
body  in  the  community.  At  the  time  of  our  visit  to  Elgon 
there  had  been  some  months  of  drought,  and  the  chief  rain- 
maker of  the  district  had  been  called  to  account  because 
of  its  continuance.  The  people  did  not  think  that  this  rain- 
maker was  powerless  to  bring  the  needed  rain,  but  that  for 
some  reason  he  was  putting  them  off;  after  first  begging 
him  to  bring  the  longed-for  showers  and  praying  him  to 
cause  rain  to  fall,  they  proceeded  to  complain  that  their 
crops  were  dying;  next  they  used  strong  language,  threatening 
him  with  serious  bodily  injury,  unless  he  used  his  influence 
with  the  god  of  rain.  It  was  all  in  vain;  the  rain  did  not  come, 
the  people,  therefore,  marched  out  against  the  unfortunate 
rain-maker,  caught  him,  and  so  belaboured  him,  that  they 
broke  his  leg,  robbed  him  of  all  his  possessions,  and  burned 
down  his  hut.  The  man  was  lying  in  a  hut  near  the  mission 
station  when  I  arrived,  and  was  being  nursed  by  some  lady 
missionaries,  who  set  the  leg  and  ministered  to  his  needs. 


240     SEVERE  TREATMENT  OF  RAIN-MAKER  [ch. 


After  the  people  had  taken  these  summary  measures,  they 
relented;  they  did  not  obtain  rain,  and  now  they  thought 
that  they  had  overstepped  the  bounds  which  their  needs 
warranted,  and  that  the  gods  would  be  angry  with  them  for 
their  action;  they  accordingly  restored  all  the  rain-maker's 
property,  and  made  him  an  offering  to  compensate  for  his 
broken  limb.  Having  pacified  the  rain-maker,  they  urged 
him  to  take  some  immediate  steps  to  procure  rain.  As  the 
man  could  not  move  owing  to  his  broken  limb,  he  had  to 
act  by  deputy,  and  his  assistant  had  to  take  an  offering  up  the 
mountain  to  the  rain-god.  We  saw  this  man  as  he  was  on  his 
way  with  a  companion;  he  was  carrying  two  black  fowls  as 
his  offering  when  he  renewed  his  request  for  rain.  Strangely 
enough,  rain  fell  the  next  day;  and  this  coincidence  confirmed 
the  opinion  of  the  people  that  the  man  could  bring  rain,  when 
he  really  wished  to  do  so. 

The  old  people  say  that  they  lived  at  one  time  on  the 
higher  slopes  of  Mount  Elgon,  and  that  they  have  gradually 
worked  their  way  down  into  the  plain  in  search  of  better 
plots  for  agricultural  purposes,  but  even  now  they  like  the 
higher  slopes  better  than  the  lower  hills.  These  same  old 
people  remember  the  time  when  they  kept  certain  caves  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  mountain  provisioned  and  ready  for 
immediate  use,  in  case  they  were  attacked  by  any  strong 
enemy ;  every  year  with  unfailing  regularity  there  were  raids 
made  upon  them  by  a  tribe  from  the  north,  presumably  Abys- 
sinians,  who  carried  off  everything  before  them,  killing  men, 
and  enslaving  women  and  children.  During  these  visits  of 
raiders  the  people  fled  into  the  caves,  which  were  difficult  to 
approach,  and  could  be  defended  by  a  small  force.  Cattle 
and  sheep  were  taken  into  the  caves,  where  they  were  hidden 
by  day  and  herded  by  night  upon  the  upper  part  of  the 
mountain.  From  the  valleys  these  people  would  be  invisible 
during  the  day,  and  from  their  vantage  ground  they  would 
be  able  to  watch  the  movements  of  their  adversaries.  It  is 
possible  that  these  caves,  which  afforded  shelter  for  the  people 
during  unsettled  times  when  their  country  was  overrun  by 


PLATE  XVI 


PLATE  XVII 


XV] 


BAGESHU  CLAN  ANIMOSITY 


241 


foes,  have  occasioned  the  statement  to  be  made  that  there 
were  permanent  cave  dwellers  in  these  parts;  on  the  other 
hand  there  may  well  have  been  a  time  when  people  resided 
permanently  in  the  caves  and  sallied  forth  to  cultivate  their 
plots  of  land  and  herd  their  cattle.  Or  again,  there  may  be 
tribes  who  still  live  in  caves  in  parts  of  the  country  which  I 
was  unable  to  visit;  the  enmity  which  exists  between  clans  is 
a  sufficient  reason  for  one  clan  being  ignorant  of  the  doings 
of  another  clan  only  a  few  miles  distant;  communication  is 
limited,  and  travel  impossible  to  them. 

The  bitterness  which  exists  between  the  clans  of  the 
Bageshu  is  strong;  no  man  is  safe  going  about  alone;  they 
have  even  to  visit  friends  in  companies  of  two  or  three  to 
be  sure  of  meeting  with  no  violence.  Once  a  year,  however, 
for  a  period  of  some  five  weeks,  there  is  amity;  all  strife  is 
put  away,  and  there  is  perfect  goodwill;  it  is  then  possible 
to  exchange  visits  without  any  fear.  This  season  comes 
after  harvest,  when  an  abundance  of  beer  is  brewed  from 
millet,  and  men  and  women  give  themselves  up  to  regular 
saturnalia;  the  gatherings  are  held  in  different  villages  in 
succession,  according  to  pre-arranged  plans  for  accumu- 
lating pots  of  beer,  and  they  continue  until  the  beer  is 
consumed.  During  this  time  men  and  women  disregard  all 
matrimonial  rights,  and  old  and  young  of  either  sex  yield  to 
the  most  debased  forms  of  licentiousness  and  animal  passion. 
As  a  rule  these  feasts  are  held  when  young  men  and  women 
have  fulfilled  the  initiation  ceremonies,  and  for  the  first 
time  are  able  to  take  their  part  in  the  feasts  as  fully  qualified 
members  of  the  clan.  No  one  is  allowed  to  carry  any 
weapon  during  this  period;  they  go  about  with  bamboo 
staves  six  or  seven  feet  long,  but  these  are  the  holders  of 
the  long  beer  tubes,  through  which  they  suck  their  beer  from 
a  common  pot.  The  mode  of  drinking  is  to  place  a  large 
pot  in  an  open  space,  where  there  is  sitting  room  for 
twenty  or  more  people  round  it;  every  man  then  places 
his  tube  in  the  pot,  and  sucks  the  beer  while  he  talks 
freely.   Singing  and  dancing  take  place  at  the  time  of 

R.U.  16 


242 


SCENERY  IN  BUSOGA 


[CH. 


drinking,  and  the  revelry  continues  by  day  and  by  night 
until  the  beer  is  ended,  when  the  party  moves  on  to  the 
next  village,  where  a  further  supply  of  beer  is  provided. 
There  is  no  quarrelling  during  this  time  of  drinking,  but 
disputes  and  old  feuds  are  carefully  kept  aside;  any  mis- 
understandings arising  from  the  effects  of  the  beer  are  settled 
quickly  by  the  majority,  and  all  meet  on  the  common 
ground  of  friendship  and  goodwill. 

The  journey  from  Mount  Elgon  to  Busoga  is  a  pleasant 
run  for  a  cyclist  in  fair  weather,  for  the  road  passes  through 
some  beautiful  stretches  of  country  with  clumps  of  wood; 
and  often  these  contain  splendid  specimens  of  ferns,  tropical 
flowers,  and  grasses.  The  undulating  character  of  the  country 
lends  picturesqueness  to  the  ever  varying  scene;  sometimes 
the  traveller  is  on  an  eminence  overlooking  a  wide  expanse 
of  grass  and  scrub,  or  again  he  is  on  a  fairly  level  tract  of 
land,  ending  with  a  sharp  dip  through  a  woody  dale  with 
fine  trees  and  flowering  plants,  and  also  full  of  animal  and 
bird  life,  while  insects  abound,  each  with  its  peculiar  interest 
calling  for  special  investigation;  again  plant  life  new  to  his 
eye,  and  possibly  to  science,  arrests  the  attention  of  the 
traveller  at  every  turn.  The  cyclist  dismounts,  enchanted 
with  these  scenes,  as  he  gazes  first  over  an  expanse  and 
then  on  some  coppice;  he  longs  for  time  and  leisure  to  study 
these  beauties  of  nature,  and  for  knowledge  to  understand 
them.  He  may  perhaps  be  tempted  to  pick  some  new 
flower,  while  he  longs  to  be  able  to  penetrate  into  the 
unknown  depths  of  the  wooded  belt,  but  he  is  forced  to  put 
aside  these  allurements  and  to  press  onward  to  his  camp  and 
follow  his  own  particular  line  of  research.  Should,  however, 
the  journey  be  undertaken  in  wet  weather,  and  in  a  hurry, 
it  becomes  a  wearisome  task;  the  paths  are  slippery  in 
some  places  and  sticky  in  others;  both  for  the  pedestrian 
and  the  cyclist  it  means  heavy  work;  there  are  indeed  places 
on  the  road  where  the  wheels  of  the  bicycle  clog  so  quickly, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  ride,  and  the  machine  has  to  be 
carried,  which  is  a  heavy  and  formidable  burden  in  a 


XV] 


FAMINE  INCIDENTS 


243 


tropical  country,  especially  when  the  traveller  is  alone  and 
in  a  hurry  to  reach  a  distant  locality.  We  were  fortunate 
in  this  respect,  for  the  weather  was  charming.  I  had  visited 
Busoga  before,  and  had  lived  some  months  in  Luba's  country; 
at  that  time  food  was  plentiful,  and  the  country  prosperous; 
it  was  therefore  distressing  on  the  present  occasion  to  see  the 
people  reduced  to  a  state  of  want  and  starvation. 

We  had  not  passed  far  into  Busoga,  before  we  began  to 
meet  with  tokens  of  famine:  men  and  women  dead,  or  dying 
by  the  roadside;  they  perished  in  the  attempt  to  reach  the 
Government  relief  camps  which  had  been  opened  in  different 
places.  The  scene  at  the  Central  Relief  Camp  was  a  sight 
never  to  be  forgotten,  especially  the  emaciated  forms  of  the 
people,  many  of  them  so  weak  that  they  had  to  be  treated 
medically,  but  even  among  these  there  were  numbers  dying 
daily,  who  had  reached  the  camp  too  late  to  be  able  to  benefit 
by  the  kind  treatment.  Other  cases  were  painful  to  watch: 
mothers  seemed  to  have  lost  all  feeling  of  affection  and 
responsibility  for  their  children;  they  snatched  the  food 
from  them,  and  ate  it  greedily  themselves,  and  they  fought 
like  beasts  for  the  supplies  of  food  doled  out  daily  to  them 
by  the  officers.  Our  stay  was  made  as  brief  as  possible,  as  we 
carried  food  for  two  or  three  days  only,  and  therefore  could 
not  remain,  it  being  impossible  to  obtain  fresh  supplies;  nor 
was  our  further  presence  of  value,  since  we  could  do  nothing 
to  help  the  efficient  staff  of  workers,  and  on  the  contrary 
might  become  a  burden  by  giving  them  additional  work  in 
entertaining  us.  When  going  to  Bukedi  a  few  weeks  pre- 
viously, we  had  passed  through  the  northern  part  of  Busoga, 
and  there  had  learnt  something  of  the  people  and  their 
customs,  before  the  famine  had  become  severe.  But  here  in 
Luba's  country  the  chiefs  were  all  busy  at  the  relief  camps, 
assisting  the  Government  officers  and  the  missionaries  in 
distributing  food  to  the  famine  stricken  peasants.  It  was 
impossible  to  find  anyone  able  to  give  us  information  con- 
cerning the  customs  or  the  history  of  the  tribe,  and  we 
therefore  resumed  our  journey. 


16 — 2 


244 


CAUSES  OF  FAMINE 


[ch. 


South  Busoga  suffered  most  from  the  famine,  but  the 
people  were  in  many,  if  not  all,  instances  themselves  to 
blame,  though  they  attributed  it  to  the  Government. 
When  the  men  were  called  away  for  state  labour,  such  as 
road  making,  carrying  burdens,  and  other  Government 
work  or  building,  the  women  refused  to  continue  cultivation 
in  their  plantations,  and  allowed  them  to  run  wild,  so  that 
they  ceased  to  bear  fruit;  this  was  because  the  men  had, 
according  to  old  customs,  been  responsible  for  the  heavier 
work  of  digging  and  tilling  the  land.  The  women  under  the 
altered  labour  conditions  would  not  move  a  hand  to  keep 
their  plots  of  land  cultivated,  but  demanded  the  help  of 
their  husbands,  before  they  would  bestir  themselves.  When 
the  husbands  returned  from  their  work  at  a  distance,  after 
being  absent  in  some  cases  for  a  month,  many  of  the  wives 
refused  to  cook  for  them,  and  left  their  men  folk  to  manage 
as  best  they  could  for  themselves.  These,  who  had  been 
taken  from  home  for  work  against  their  will,  naturally 
resented  such  harsh  treatment  from  their  wives,  became 
sullen  in  their  homes,  and  refused  to  help  them,  and  this 
discord  soon  produced  a  harvest  of  trouble  in  the  shape 
of  famine.  Things  went  from  bad  to  worse,  until  the  plantain 
trees  ceased  to  bear  any  fruit,  and  the  plantations  ran  wild. 
The  land  famous  for  the  abundance  of  its  plantains  became 
barren  and  unproductive  through  neglect. 

The  plantain  is  the  staple  food  of  the  Basoga;  no  grain  is 
grown  except  a  kind  of  bitter  millet  used  for  fermenting 
beer;  hence  famine  and  death  had  to  be  faced  when  the 
plantations  ceased  to  yield  fruit.  In  some  of  these  famine 
stricken  districts  there  were  small  settlements  of  Baganda, 
who  had  ample  food  for  their  own  needs,  but  could  not 
supply  markets,  or  satisfy  the  starving  people;  indeed  they 
had  to  guard  their  fields  by  day  and  by  night  against 
determined  attempts  by  the  starving  neighbours  to  rob  them. 
Still,  the  presence  of  these  Baganda  owning  trees  bearing 
ample  fruit  proved  that  the  famine  was  not  due  to  climatic 
causes,  such  as  lack  of  rain,  but  was  owing  to  the  discontent 


xv]  BUGANDA  RULE  IN  BUSOGA  245 


among  the  women  and  their  rebellious  spirit,  which  caused 
them  to  refrain  from  cultivating  their  plantations  because  of 
the  forced  labour  question.  Before  the  British  occupation 
Busoga  was  ruled  by  Baganda  chiefs,  but  for  various  reasons, 
especially  because  of  an  accusation  made  against  the  Baganda 
by  the  Basoga,  that  the  former  plundered  their  land  every 
time  they  came  to  collect  state  taxes,  Busoga  was  taken  from 
the  Baganda,  and  administered  by  a  British  officer.  The 
Baganda  very  naturally  resented  this  large  tract  of  country 
being  taken  from  them,  but  they  were  unable  to  convince  the 
British  authorities  of  their  intention  to  reform  and  to  prevent 
any  unjust  taxation  or  robbery  in  the  future;  so  the  land 
passed  into  other  hands.  But  the  British  Government  came 
to  realise  that  their  regime  had  not  been  the  best,  and  that 
they  had  been  deceived  by  the  Basoga  chiefs;  hence  it  was 
decided  to  return  to  the  old  custom  of  rule. 

When  the  famine  ended,  a  Muganda  chief  was  placed  over 
the  Basoga,  who  was  to  endeavour  to  reform  the  country,  and 
to  prevent  any  similar  disaster  occurring ;  for  a  time  he  was 
successful  in  bringing  about  a  better  state  of  affairs,  but  after- 
wards he  became  dissatisfied,  because  he  was  not  sure  that 
he  had  the  support  of  his  superiors,  the  British  officers;  he 
therefore  asked  to  be  relieved  from  his  office.  There  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  complaint  made  by  the  Baganda  that  the 
Basoga  are  indolent;  they  need  to  be  restrained  from  idleness 
and  encouraged  to  labour.  No  doubt  there  were  instances  of 
excessive  taxation  when  the  Baganda  ruled  them,  and  the  king 
sent  his  minions  to  collect  the  yearly  tax.  Still,  the  Baganda 
knew  the  people  and  their  tendency  to  idleness,  and  they 
understood  how  to  deal  with  them,  so  that  there  might 
always  be  an  abundance  of  food.  The  British  officer  gave  the 
chiefs  too  free  a  hand  in  managing  their  country,  and  the 
people,  who  did  not  respect  their  own  chiefs,  took  advantage 
of  the  kindness  shown  by  him. 

Busoga  is  divided  into  three  states,  each  with  its  tribe  of 
people  differing  in  various  respects  from  their  neighbours, 
though  retaining  common  characteristics;  in  remote  times 


246  BASOGA  VISITS  TO  BUGANDA  [ch. 


each  state  was  tributary  to  an  adjacent  race.  The  state  known 
as  Luba's  country  has  for  many  years  belonged  to  Uganda; 
another  state  belonged  to  Bunyoro;  while  the  third  was  more 
or  less  independent,  but  sought  help  from  the  Bateso  or  Bukedi, 
whenever  a  chief  died,  and  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  the  new  ruler.  For  many  years  the  Baganda  have  ruled 
these  three  states  and  have  maintained  harmony  between 
the  different  tribes.  The  Basoga  used  to  send  their  repre- 
sentatives to  the  Uganda  court,  whenever  they  had  any 
business  to  lay  before  the  king,  and  these  visits  often  lasted 
for  a  period  of  several  months.  For  this  reason  a  site  in 
Uganda  was  apportioned  to  the  Basoga  near  the  capital,  with 
land  and  plantain  groves,  which  supplied  them  with  food 
during  these  prolonged  visits.  Retainers  of  the  Basoga 
chiefs  lived  on  these  estates  and  kept  them  cultivated.  There 
were  usually  several  Basoga  lads  among  the  royal  pages, 
learning  court  etiquette,  and  being  taught  how  to  rule ;  they 
were  generally  the  sons  of  important  chiefs. 

Whenever  there  was  any  disturbance  in  Busoga,  sub- 
chiefs,  sent  by  their  superior  chiefs,  visited  the  king  of 
Uganda  to  report  the  trouble  and  obtain  advice.  When 
these  messengers  went  to  the  king,  they  took  with  them  a 
worthy  present,  either  of  ivory  or  women  and  cattle;  and 
also  a  present  to  the  chief  through  whose  country  they  had 
to  pass;  this  chief  was  their  Uganda  representative  and  had 
to  introduce  them  to  the  king  of  Uganda.  When  the  king 
was  in  need  of  slaves,  or  wished  for  more  cattle,  he  would 
send  to  Busoga  and  would  be  given  ample  to  satisfy  his  desires. 
The  loss  of  this  district  was  therefore  a  serious  matter  to  the 
Baganda.  The  king  did  not  tax  the  Basoga  yearly,  as  he  did  his 
own  people  in  Uganda,  but  sent  his  representatives  whenever 
he  thought  it  was  time  that  they  should  give  him  a  present. 
There  were  undoubtedly  cases  of  oppression  which  called 
for  investigation,  and  there  was  need  of  a  more  carefully 
organised  method  of  raising  the  taxes,  but  nevertheless  the 
Baganda  understood  the  Basoga,  whom  they  really  helped 
and  governed  wisely  on  the  whole.  It  is  impossible  to  think 


xv]  BISHOP  HANNINGTON'S  CAPTURE  247 


of  the  country  suffering  from  famine  or  in  other  ways  under 
the  old  regime,  to  the  extent  that  it  has  done  since  it  became 
a  separate  state  under  the  lenient  British  rule.  With  the 
accession  of  native  Christian  rulers  in  Uganda,  wise  and 
equitable  laws  were  being  made,  which  would  have  brought 
about  the  necessary  reform  in  regard  to  taxation  in  Busoga, 
and  would  also  have  put  right  the  oppression  which  had  been 
caused  by  untrustworthy  chiefs  sent  by  the  king. 

Many  of  the  Busoga  customs  are  similar  to  those  of 
Uganda,  and  for  many  years  the  people  have  adopted  a 
dialect  of  Luganda,  but,  owing  to  the  Busoga  custom  of 
extracting  some  three  of  the  front  teeth,  the  people  speak 
with  a  lisp  which  considerably  alters  the  sound  of  words. 
Left  to  manage  for  themselves,  they  are  not  so  capable  as 
the  Baganda,  though  a  few,  who  in  past  years  have  been 
trained  in  Uganda,  have  shown  great  mental  abilities,  and 
have  been  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  Baganda  in  scholastic 
attainments.  The  Basoga  houses  are  neatly  built,  and  the 
floors  of  the  huts  are  better  made  than  those  of  the  majority 
of  huts  in  Uganda.  The  enclosures  of  chiefs,  however,  are  not 
kept  in  such  a  neat  state  as  those  of  chiefs  of  corresponding 
importance  in  Uganda. 

The  old  chief  Luba,  who  was  the  man  who  arrested  Bishop 
Hannington,  and  carried  out  king  Mwanga's  orders  to  execute 
him,  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  Musoga  chief.  My  first  visit 
to  his  country  and  first  meeting  with  the  old  chief  took  place 
some  seven  years  after  the  Bishop's  death,  when  I  went  to 
open  a  mission  centre  among  the  Basoga  people.  Luba,  who 
was  in  full  power  at  the  time,  used  to  hold  his  councils  under 
a  tree,  with  two  or  three  of  his  chief  wives  sitting  behind  him; 
one  of  these  carried  a  gourd  of  beer  and  his  special  drinking 
cup,  so  that  he  might  refresh  himself  when  the  burden  of 
business  became  tedious;  another  carried  his  shield  and  spear, 
while  the  third  had  charge  of  the  rug  on  which  he  sat ;  all  three 
watched  the  gathering,  and  if  there  were  any  signs  of  unruly 
conduct  or  disorder,  the  chief  was  warned,  and  his  weapons 
were  placed  in  his  hand,  ready  to  strike  if  necessary.  Many  of 


248 


THE  CHIEF  LUBA  AND  HIS  COURT  [ch. 


the  chiefs  who  attended  the  gathering  also  carried  pots  of  beer, 
and  most  of  the  meetings  ended  with  Luba  and  his  chiefs 
becoming  too  intoxicated  to  transact  further  business. 

Busoga  has  to-day  become  nominally  Christian,  though 
there  are  still  numbers  of  people  living  in  heathenism,  and 
the  education  of  the  Christians  is  far  from  complete.  As 
warriors  the  Basoga  were  never  noted  for  their  prowess, 
though  they  were  at  times  called  upon  by  their  chiefs  to 
settle  tribal  disputes  by  force.  Slings  for  casting  stones  were 
then  used  with  great  skill  and  accuracy,  and  ugly  dents  in  the 
skulls  of  some  of  their  opponents  testified  to  their  accuracy 
of  aim  in  this  method  of  warfare.  For  years  past  Busoga  has 
been  noted  for  its  large  plantain  groves  and  the  abundance 
of  vegetable  food ;  but  since  the  demand  for  labour  was  made 
by  the  British  Government,  the  food  supply  has  fallen  off, 
and,  as  mentioned  above,  the  women  have  refused  to  work 
the  fields  without  the  men,  and  this  has  had  disastrous  results 
on  the  splendid  plantations. 

Luba's  country,  which  lies  upon  the  great  Lake  Victoria,  is 
noted  for  its  canoes  and  canoemen;  in  the  past  there  were 
no  better  canoes  on  the  lake  than  those  of  Busoga,  though 
the  men  seldom  paddled  far  from  their  own  shores,  except 
to  visit  the  islands  of  the  Bavuma  where  markets  were  held, 
and  whither  they  carried  vegetable  food  to  exchange  for  fish, 
pottery,  and  fish  nets. 

In  certain  quarters  in  England  Luba  bears  the  stigma  of 
having  been  the  murderer  of  Hannington,  and  most  people 
think  of  him  as  a  cruel  old  savage.  But  the  old  man  was  not 
a  ruffian  even  when  he  committed  the  murder,  for  he  merely 
carried  out  his  instructions  and  did  his  duty  to  his  king.  From 
our  point  of  view  it  was  a  horrible  murder,  but  Luba  looked 
upon  the  deed  as  an  act  of  duty,  and  as  he  was  a  pagan 
with  superstitious  ideas,  and  moreover  a  man  who  frequently 
had  to  put  people  to  death  for  trivial  offences,  it  was  not  such  a 
shocking  deed  for  him  and  his  people  to  kill  an  intruder  like 
Hannington ;  indeed  he  felt  he  was  rendering  his  country  a 
service.  To  me  personally  Luba  was  most  kind,  and  when  I 


xv]       CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  BASOGA  249 


visited  him  to  open  a  mission  in  his  country,  he  wanted  to  give 
me  a  large  present  of  ivory.  When  this  was  refused,  he  was  dis- 
appointed and  could  not  understand  why  I  would  not  accept 
his  present ;  he  then  asked  me  to  accept  twenty  milch  cows  and 
several  goats,  and  when  I  told  him  that  I  did  not  desire  any  such 
present,  he  said  he  was  unable  to  understand  the  purpose  of  my 
visit ;  when  it  was  explained  that  my  purpose  was  to  teach  him 
and  his  people,  he  replied :  "I  have  never  before  found  people 
refuse  ivory  and  cows."  He  was  not  satisfied  until  I  made  a 
compromise,  and  took  two  cows  and  their  calves  for  milk,  and 
two  or  three  goats  for  meat.  From  that  time  to  the  end  of  his 
life  Luba  remained  a  constant  friend  to  me,  and  frequently  sent 
a  servant  to  visit  me  in  Uganda  with  a  present  of  two  or  three 
goats.  Though  the  old  man  learned  a  good  deal  about  Christi- 
anity, he  never  became  a  pronounced  Christian,  but  died  with- 
out making  any  profession  of  faith  in  Christ,  so  far  as  I  know. 

The  Basoga  are  addicted  to  smoking  Indian  hemp,  and 
this  makes  them  stupid  and  often  stubborn ;  apart  from  this 
vice  and  that  of  drinking  beer  to  excess,  the  people  are  equal 
to  the  average  African  in  intellect.  For  years  they  have 
been  notorious  for  their  tendency  to  kleptomania,  which 
has  developed  into  a  system  of  robbing  houses  by  digging 
under  the  walls  and  entering  by  a  tunnel.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  a  common  thing  to  hear  a  man  digging  his  way  under 
the  walls  of  a  house,  coming  up  inside,  and  carrying  off 
such  goods  as  he  considered  valuable.  So  common  was  this 
method  of  theft,  that  the  better  houses  were  built  with  a  layer 
of  stones  embedded  round  their  walls  some  two  feet  deep,  so 
as  to  hamper  thieves  in  digging.  As  I  passed  through  Luba's 
district,  a  teacher  told  me  that  his  house  had  been  dug  into  a 
few  nights  previously,  but  fortunately  he  was  awake  and  heard 
the  thief,  and  waited  for  him  to  come  up  inside.  When  what  he 
mistook  for  the  man's  head  appeared,  he  speared  it  with  all 
his  force,  but  soon  found  that  the  thief  had  pushed  up  a  bundle 
of  bark-cloth  before  him,  tomake  sure  of  his  safety,  and,  finding 
theinmate  ready  for  him,  he  had  left  the  bark-cloth,  withdrawn 
from  the  tunnel,  and  escaped  before  the  door  could  be  opened. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  BANYORO  AND  THEIR  AGRICULTURAL 
DEPENDANTS 

WHAT  has  been  written  above  concerning  the  pastoral 
tribe  of  Ankole,  has  to  some  extent  anticipated  what 
we  shall  have  to  say  of  the  Banyoro,  who  form  one  of  the 
most  important  pastoral  tribes  of  East  Central  Africa.  There 
was  a  time  when  the  king  of  Bunyoro  was  the  most  influential 
of  all  the  Central  African  kings,  when  he  ruled  the  greater 
part  of  Uganda,  and  his  kingdom  stretched  far  down  into 
Southern  Uganda  and  included  also  much  of  the  Northern 
part  of  that  country.  The  kingdom  of  Toro  did  not  then 
exist,  for  the  wide  domains  of  Bunyoro  extended  to  the 
borders  of  the  Dark  Forest.  The  people  of  Ankole  lived  in 
fear  of  their  cousins  the  Banyoro,  and  maintained  peace 
with  them  by  frequent  gifts  of  cattle.  To  the  north  and 
away  to  the  north-west  and  the  north-east  of  Bunyoro, 
the  tribes  felt  it  wise  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  the 
Bunyoro  kings,  and  sent  annual  presents  of  slaves  and  cattle. 
The  extent  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  honour  in  which  the 
king  was  held,  will  be  the  more  readily  understood,  when  we 
learn  how  essential  it  was  for  the  king  to  be  a  warrior,  and 
also  to  prove  his  prowess,  before  he  could  mount  the  throne. 

Pastoral  tribes  did  not  set  great  value  upon  the  extent 
of  land  they  owned,  but  were  satisfied  so  long  as  they  were 
able  to  pasture  their  cattle ;  the  serfs,  who  were  an  agricultural 
tribe,  were  at  liberty  to  settle  in  any  part  of  the  country 
where  they  pleased,  and  were  never  severely  taxed  except 
to  render  labour,  while  when  vegetables  or  goats  were 
demanded,  it  was  as  voluntary  gifts  rather  than  as  payment 
of  taxes.  These  agricultural  people  were  in  all  probability 
the  original  possessors  of  the  soil,  who  had  been  reduced  to 
serfdom  by  the  stronger  warriors;  they  settled  in  any  place 
where  they  wished,  and  gave  as  much  or  as  little  vegetable 


CH.  xvi]     LAND  AS  VALUED  BY  COWMEN  251 

food  or  grain  to  king  or  chief  as  they  felt  inclined.  The 
pastoral  Banyoro  had  no  care  for  agricultural  land,  but 
only  wanted  good  pasture  land,  and  gardens  were  not  con- 
sidered so  important  by  them  as  they  would  have  been  by 
the  Baganda,  who  combined  cattle  rearing  with  agriculture, 
and  who  meted  out  every  yard  of  land  to  some  chief,  who 
was  expected  to  people  and  cultivate  it,  and  who  would  be  . 
deposed,  if  he  failed  in  these  respects.  Hence  large  tracts 
of  country  were  wrested  from  the  Banyoro  by  the  Baganda 
with  little  expenditure  of  force,  before  the  former  people  really 
felt  the  loss  of  their  land.  Another  reason  which  caused  the 
king  of  Bunyoro  to  overlook  the  importance  of  land,  was  the 
custom  of  estimating  greatness  and  wealth  according  to  the 
number  of  cattle  which  a  man  had.  So  long,  therefore,  as 
the  herds  escaped  the  punitive  expeditions  of  the  Baganda, 
little  heed  was  paid  by  the  Banyoro  to  encroachments  into 
their  land ;  thus  the  Baganda  yearly  pressed  back  the  Banyoro 
herdsmen,  settled  in  large  numbers  upon  the  newly  acquired 
land,  and  extended  their  boundaries. 

Readers  who  wish  to  know  more  of  the  early  state  of 
Bunyoro,  judged  from  a  traveller's  point  of  view,  will  do 
well  to  consult  Sir  Samuel  Baker's  account  of  his  visit  to 
the  country  and  of  what  he  found  there. 

Cattle  were  the  chief  object  and  end  of  life  for  a  man 
who  belonged  to  a  pastoral  tribe,  and  even  the  life  after 
death  was  believed  to  be  influenced  and  regulated  by  pastoral 
customs.  The  king  and  his  people  not  only  enjoyed  cattle 
here  on  earth,  but  expected  to  have  the  pleasure  of  owning 
herds  in  the  spirit  world.  Pasture  land  was  so  common 
and  abundant,  that  the  thought  does  not  appear  to  have 
entered  into  their  minds  that  anyone  would  contest  their 
right  to  pasture  their  cattle  where  they  liked. 

My  personal  contact  with  the  people  did  not  begin  until 
the  British  had  established  their  rule  in  Bunyoro.  Previously 
it  had  been  impossible  to  enter  the  country,  owing  to  the 
fierce  and  determined  opposition  of  Kabarega,  the  former 
king,  who  strongly  condemned  the  king  of  Uganda  and  his 


252 


KABAREGA  RESISTS  BRITISH  RULE  [ch. 


subjects  for  having  invited  the  British  into  Uganda.  To  make 
his  strong  disapproval  more  acutely  felt,  king  Kabarega 
began  a  series  of  petty  invasions  into  the  states  of  Uganda 
bordering  on  Bunyoro.  These  invasions  had  to  be  resisted  by 
Baganda  troops,  who  endeavoured  to  police  the  frontier  and 
stave  off  marauding  armies ;  but  at  length  the  raids  became 
so  persistent,  that  the  British  took  up  the  cause  and  organised 
an  expedition,  in  which  the  king  was  driven  from  his  capital 
and  became  a  fugitive.  After  months  of  wandering  he  was 
captured,  and  was  deported  to  Seychelles,  where  he  still  lives. 
For  some  months  after  he  had  vacated  his  capital,  he  was 
able  to  evade  all  the  efforts  made  to  capture  him,  and  he 
might  have  continued  a  free  man  for  some  time  longer,  had 
not  some  of  his  agricultural  followers,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
act  as  porters  and  to  help  him  to  move  from  place  to  place, 
owing  to  war-weariness  and  scarcity  of  food,  betrayed  him. 
Even  when  brought  to  bay,  the  old  warrior  was  not  captured 
before  he  had  made  a  good  stand  and  fought  for  liberty; 
he  lost  an  arm  through  a  bullet  shattering  the  bone,  and 
this  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  hold  his  rifle  any  longer. 
When  a  fugitive  he  was  able  to  obtain  his  daily  food,  which 
consisted  of  milk,  because  his  herds  could  be  kept  at  no 
great  distance,  and  milk  could  be  carried  to  him  wherever 
he  went;  it  was  otherwise  with  the  agricultural  peasants, 
they  were  unable  to  grow  their  crops  or  obtain  vegetable 
food,  and  were  beginning  to  feel  the  pinch  of  hunger,  as  their 
supplies  of  corn  gave  out,  hence  they  betrayed  the  hiding  place 
of  their  lord.  With  the  fall  of  Kabarega  a  new  mode  of  govern- 
ment began  in  Bunyoro,  which  continues  to  the  present. 

The  British  Government  elected  a  son  of  Kabarega  to 
follow  his  father  upon  the  throne,  but,  as  he  soon  proved  to 
be  incompetent,  he  was  deposed,  and  his  brother  was  placed 
on  the  throne,  who  has  proved  more  capable. 

In  Bunyoro  the  customs  that  decided  which  prince  should 
succeed  a  deceased  king  differed  considerably  from  those  fol- 
lowed by  the  Baganda,  or  by  any  of  the  tribes  round  Uganda. 
The  king,  they  thought,  must  not  grow  old  nor  become 


xvi] 


A  KING'S  COMPULSORY  SUICIDE 


253 


feeble  through  age  or  sickness  and  unable  to  carry  on  his 
regal  duties,  nor  again  must  he  die  a  natural  death,  unless 
it  be  sudden.  When  he  found  himself  unable  to  fulfil  his  office, 
it  was  his  duty  to  end  his  life,  while  still  in  possession  of  his 
full  powers,  by  drinking  a  dose  of  poison.  It  may  strike  us 
with  wonder  that  no  king  should  have  tried  to  evade  this 
step,  but  we  are  told  that  the  king  was  always  ready  to 
perform  this  act,  if  he  felt  indisposed;  and  no  doubt  the 
belief  he  had  of  the  next  life  was  the  cause  of  his  readiness 
to  depart  from  the  present  one.  It  was  commonly  believed 
that  the  king  at  death  began  his  life  in  the  ghostly  world  in 
royal  estate,  and  reigned  with  his  predecessors.  Cattle, 
servants,  slaves  and  retainers  formed  his  retinue  and  wealth, 
and  were  the  manifestation  of  his  greatness;  hence  it  was 
considered  right  to  execute  a  large  number  of  people  and  to 
kill  many  cattle  at  the  open  grave  of  a  king,  when  the  funeral 
took  place,  so  that  the  ghosts  of  the  people  and  the  cattle 
might  accompany  him  into  the  new  world.  This  following 
of  retainers  and  slaves  and  cattle  gave  the  king  honour,  as 
he  entered  into  the  presence  of  his  ancestors,  while  the  lack 
of  it  would  have  been  a  cause  of  shame.  It  therefore  depended 
upon  the  living,  whether  a  king  went  with  honour  and  wealth, 
or  with  poverty  and  shame  to  the  other  world.  The  execution 
of  hundreds  of  people  and  the  sacrifice  of  large  numbers  of 
cattle  were  performed  at  the  grave,  because  it  wasbelievedthat 
it  pleased  the  departed,  while  the  accompanying  ghosts  placed 
him  in  a  position  of  power,  and  made  him  willing  to  assist  the 
living.  Malevolent  ghosts  who  injured  the  cattle  might,  it  was 
thought,  be  those  of  royal  persons,  who  were  vexed  with  the 
living  either  for  neglecting  to  keep  up  a  supply  of  animal 
sacrifices  to  them,  or  for  sending  too  small  a  number  of 
people  for  their  retinue  at  the  time  of  burial. 

Ghosts  of  common  people  remained  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  living,  and  became  hostile,  if  they  were  not  given  offerings 
of  cattle  at  their  funeral  and  afterwards  from  time  to  time. 
Apart  from  these  ghosts  the  Banyoro  had  no  conception  of 
spirits  either  good  or  bad;  the  spirit  world  they  thought  was 


254 


THE  KING'S  SUCCESSOR 


[CH. 


peopled  by  the  disembodied  souls  of  the  living.  In  every 
instance  men  have  greater  honour  paid  to  them  than  women, 
who  receive  little  or  none,  either  during  life  or  in  death.  In 
the  other  world,  it  was  believed,  there  were  social  conditions 
similar  to  those  of  this  world,  that  is,  men  and  women 
marry  and  live  with  families,  much  as  they  do  here,  and 
cattle  are  necessary  to  the  pastoral  people,  while  the  agricul- 
tural clans  have  their  fields  and  crops.  With  such  beliefs, 
it  was  merely  the  process  of  leaving  this  world,  often  through 
suffering,  which  caused  the  people  a  moment's  fear;  they 
were  anxious  not  to  die  from  a  painful  lingering  illness, 
especially  if  that  illness  was  caused  by  some  unfriendly 
person  who  was  working  his  spite  through  magical  means. 
The  mutilation  which  caused  pain  and  inconvenience  in  the 
present  life  and  also  debarred  the  ghost  from  future  happi- 
ness was  even  more  dreaded. 

When  the  king  ended  his  life,  the  question  arose  who  should 
be  his  successor ;  this  was  decided  by  the  princes  taking  arms, 
each  securing  what  following  he  could,  and  fighting  with  his 
brothers,  until  all  the  princes  were  killed  but  one,  and  he 
claimed  the  throne.  In  these  wars  only  the  peasants  were 
allowed  to  take  an  active  part  by  bearing  arms  and  fighting 
under  the  princes,  while  the  chiefs  were  neutral,  and  formed 
a  guard  to  protect  the  body  of  the  deceased  king,  and  to 
prevent  any  prince  from  carrying  it  away,  before  a  true 
decision  had  been  arrived  at  by  the  superiority  of  arms.  The 
prince  who  buried  the  deceased  king  was  regarded  as  the 
victorious  prince  who  had  the  right  to  reign.  During  these 
wars  fires  were  extinguished  throughout  the  country,  and 
were  only  lighted  when  needed  for  cooking  purposes,  and 
put  out  after  the  meal  had  been  prepared.  Fire  for  this 
purpose  had  to  be  obtained  by  friction  from  the  fire-sticks. 
Cultivation  was  at  a  standstill;  no  man  or  woman  was 
allowed  to  attend  to  his  field  until  the  new  king  was 
enthroned;  to  meet  any  such  emergency,  the  agricultural 
classes  kept  a  reserve  of  grain  hidden  away  in  some  spot, 
where  a  pit,  like  a  well,  was  dug  from  six  to  eight  feet  deep, 


XVI] 


SOME  MILK  CUSTOMS 


255 


the  grain  stored  in  baskets,  and  the  place  covered  and 
concealed  as  far  as  possible.  No  person  was  allowed  to  do 
any  work  beyond  cooking  food  and  carrying  fire-wood  and 
water,  until  the  new  king  was  proclaimed.  The  land  was 
in  a  state  of  warfare  and  anarchy,  so  that  the  stronger 
took  food  and  cattle  from  the  weaker  with  impunity,  indeed 
no  property  was  secure.  On  this  account  animals  were 
hurried  away  when  the  king's  death  was  announced,  and  kept 
for  safety  in  remote  places,  while  all  food  stores  and  other 
possessions  were  hidden  away  until  the  restoration  of  peace 
and  order.  A  prolonged  war  crippled  all  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  caused  shortness  of  food,  if  not  famine. 

The  milk  customs  of  the  pastoral  clans  are  most  interesting, 
and  a  knowledge  of  them  is  necessary  in  order  to  understand 
why  it  is  so  difficult  for  a  stranger  travelling  in  some  parts 
of  the  country  to  obtain  milk,  or  again  why  it  is  so  difficult 
to  introduce  new  industries  among  the  people.  Many  an 
Englishman  when  he  first  came  into  contact  with  tribes 
owning  cows,  could  not  understand  why  it  was  that  the  owners 
refused  to  sell  him  a  little  milk,  and  made  feeble  excuses  for 
withholding  it,  when  articles  which  they  prized  and  wanted 
were  offered  them  in  exchange.  A  slight  knowledge  of  their 
customs  soon  sets  the  mind  at  rest  in  this  respect ;  we  learn 
that  no  one  is  allowed  to  give  milk  to  any  person  outside  the 
tribe,  without  first  ascertaining  what  food  the  man  has  been 
eating,  and  also  to  what  purpose  the  milk  is  to  be  put,  lest 
his  herd  should  suffer  from  infection,  caused  by  milk  coming 
in  contact  with  other  food  in  the  stomach,  or  by  being  used 
in  some  unlawful  way,  such  as  being  boiled,  or  poured  into 
hot  tea,  or  into  iron  vessels.  Even  among  themselves  a  visitor 
will  be  kept  for  some  hours  from  eating  other  food,  in  order  to 
be  prepared  for  a  milk  diet,  because  he  may  have  been  eating 
vegetable  food,  or  drinking  beer  and  eating  beef  a  short  while 
before  his  arrival;  and  to  drink  milk  while  such  food  is  in  his 
stomach  is  considered  detrimental  to  the  animals.  In  the  case 
of  an  Englishman  there  is  not  only  the  danger  of  the  food 
which  he  may  have  been  eating  but  also  the  risk  that  in  all 


256    PASTORAL  OBJECTION  TO  CULTIVATING  [ch. 


probability  he  will  put  the  milk  into  vessels  which  the 
cowman  regards  as  hurtful  to  his  cows,  or  use  it  in  some  way 
which  may  cause  the  flow  of  milk  from  the  herd  to  stop,  and 
may  bring  sickness  among  them.  These  and  many  other 
milk  customs  make  it  impossible  for  the  members  of  a  pastoral 
tribe  to  sell,  or  to  give,  milk  to  any  person  whose  habits 
they  are  not  familiar  with,  lest  by  so  doing  they  should  ruin 
their  herd  of  cows. 

A  difficulty  among  pastoral  peoples  which  has  not .  yet  been 
overcome  by  the  British  Government  is  that  of  labour;  no 
man  or  woman  of  a  pastoral  tribe  is  allowed  to  do  manual 
labour,  and  digging  or  working  on  the  land  is  considered 
especially  detrimental  to  their  calling  as  pastoral  people. 
Hence  no  woman  may  do  any  work  other  than  that  of 
washing  the  few  milk  vessels  or  churning,  and  by  their  tribal 
habits  women  are  idle  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day  and  ready 
for  any  excitement  or  doubtful  amusement  which  comes  in 
their  way.  A  man,  even  the  poorest  person  among  the  pastoral 
tribes,  is  allowed  to  do  little  more  manual  labour  than  that  of 
building  a  grass  hut  for  himself  or  making  a  hole  for  water 
for  drinking  purposes  for  his  cattle;  his  duties  are  limited  to 
the  care  of  the  cows;  to  carry  loads,  to  dig,  or  to  cultivate 
is  to  his  mind  most  baneful,  and  likely  to  cause  sickness  in 
his  herd.  These  are  real  difficulties,  as  they  present  themselves 
to  the  minds  of  the  pastoral  tribes;  and  without  some  know- 
ledge of  these  customs  and  beliefs  Europeans  are  disposed 
to  consider  the  men  lazy  and  wish  to  force  them  to  work. 

Missionaries  have  found  it  difficult  to  discover  some  kind 
of  work  which  women  may  do,  to  employ  their  hands  and 
occupy  their  minds,  and  so  keep  them  from  an  idleness  which 
too  often  leads  to  immoral  conduct.  There  is  also  the  strange 
custom  of  polyandry  which  has  to  be  dealt  with  in  con- 
nexion with  these  women.  This  custom  entirely  reverses  the 
ideas  of  morality  which  are  common  to  most  tribes  in  the 
Uganda  Protectorate,  and  it  raises  many  difficult  matrimonial 
questions.  Girls  and  young  women  previous  to  marriage  are 
most  chaste;  they  are  kept  strictly;  no  mother  of  any  civilised 


xvi]     CATTLE  SICKNESS  AND  CIVILISATION  257 


nation  could  be  more  careful  as  to  her  daughter's  behaviour. 
When,  however,  marriage  has  been  contracted,  the  laws  of 
hospitality  are  of  a  peculiarly  binding  nature  and  remove  all 
the  ties  of  matrimonial  honour,  as  it  is  understood  by  most 
people.  A  man  is  obliged  to  welcome  his  guest  to  his  wife's 
couch,  and  must  not  cherish  any  jealousy  as  to  his  wife's 
•  behaviour.  Such  customs  have  far  reaching  effects  upon  the 
tribes  concerned,  and  they  need  to  be  carefully  studied  by 
men  who  know  the  natives  and  their  mode  of  life. 

It  will  readily  be  understood  how  heavy  the  work  in  such 
countries  must  be  for  the  serfs  belonging  to  the  agricultural 
class  when,  in  addition  to  having  their  home  duties  to  fulfil 
and  houses  to  build  for  their  masters,  they  have  to  undertake 
all  the  labour  consequent  upon  British  rule  and  progress,  such 
as  the  making  of  roads,  and  the  carrying  of  all  kinds  of  material 
for  Government  purposes,  in  a  country  just  opening  up  to 
Western  civilisation.  In  addition  these  same  persons  are 
expected  to  cultivate  cotton,  rubber,  and  coffee,  to  meet  the 
standard  set  by  some  official,  who  knows  little  about  the 
people  or  their  customs.  Agriculture  is  of  all  things  the  most 
objectionable  kind  of  work  which  pastoral  people  can  con- 
ceive, and  their  inbred  and  rooted  objection  to  it,  the  result  of 
generations  of  rigid  teaching,  makes  them  resist  to  the  last 
all  attempts  to  force  them  to  undertake  manual  labour.  The 
wonder  is  that  they  have  not  risen  in  a  body,  and  killed  many 
of  their  so-called  benefactors,  whom  they  consider  their 
oppressors.  Can  we  be  surprised  that  there  are  many  pagans 
who  still  think  that  cattle  disease  is  the  direct  result  of  the 
constant  disregard  of  their  old  customs,  or  who  say  that 
sleeping  sickness  is  due  to  the  anger  of  offended  gods,  who  are 
taking  revenge  by  killing  large  numbers  of  people  for  indignities 
heaped  upon  them?  Natives  require  time  to  learn,  and  need 
instructors  who  will  bear  patiently  with  them,  who  will 
study  their  difficulties,  and  not  try  to  enforce  new  rules 
and  methods  which  they  do  not  understand,  and  which 
their  past  training  has  taught  them  to  resist  with  all  their 
might.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  make  them  sceptical 


R.U. 


17 


258 


PASTORAL  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEMS  [ch. 


regarding  their  old  customs,  but  that  does  not  convince  them 
that  the  new  methods  are  right;  and  as  a  member  of  the 
pastoral  tribes  has  never  been  taught  to  do  manual  labour, 
it  is  hard  upon  his  convictions  to  force  him  to  begin  work 
which  he  finds  fatiguing,  and  which  brings  a  remuneration  for 
which  he  has  no  use. 

The  physical  features  of  Bunyoro  are  much  the  same  as 
those  of  Uganda.  There  is  more  humidity  in  Uganda  than 
in  other  parts  of  Equatorial  Africa,  owing  to  the  lakes  and 
rivers  which  supply  so  much  moisture  to  the  atmosphere, 
and  in  this  peculiarity  Bunyoro  shares  to  a  considerable 
extent.  This  moisture  naturally  makes  it  a  green  land;  trees 
are  always  in  leaf,  most  of  them  being  evergreen,  and  grass  is 
always  green ;  the  humidity  is  also  favourable  for  agriculture, 
but  no  pastoral  tribe  wish  to  see  their  grass  land  turned  into 
fields ;  they  want  as  much  grazing  land  as  possible  for  their 
large  herds.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  attempt  has  been  made 
to  utilise  in  any  way  the  skill  and  love  which  the  pastoral 
tribes  have  for  cattle,  nor  to  make  this  part  of  Africa  a  cattle- 
ranch  for  supplying  milk,  cheese,  and  tinned  meat.  This 
could  be  done  profitably  and  would  provide  not  only  for  the 
immediate  needs  of  Africa,  but  also  for  increased  shipping 
demands,  whilst  quantities  might  be  exported  to  Europe. 
Such  an  industry  might  prove  to  be  an  outlet  for  a  vast 
amount  of  latent  skill,  while  it  would  also  bring  thousands 
of  people  under  willing  subjection  to  the  British  rule.  Again 
the  milk  from  the  vast  herds  of  goats  might  easily  be  utilised 
for  the  purpose  of  making  cheese,  whereas  at  present  it  is 
never  used,  and  though  in  recent  years  the  skins  have  found 
a  market,  the  carcases  have  been  discarded  or  sold  at  a  loss 
or  given  away;  there  is  room  for  considerable  development 
in  these  respects.  Such  industries  would  be  congenial  to 
several  large  tribes  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate,  while  at 
present  they  groan  and  writhe  under  the  attempts  to  make 
them  turn  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  manual  labour  of  a 
distasteful  nature. 

The  houses  and  homes  of  the  pastoral  people  are  of  the 
poorest  possible  kind ;  they  are  merely  shelters  from  changes 


xvi] 


THE  ROUGH  LIFE  OF  HERDSMEN 


259 


of  climate,  from  cold,  heat,  or  rain,  and  they  afford  a  little 
more  safety  for  sleep  during  the  night  than  can  be  secured 
when  lying  in  the  open,  exposed  to  wild  animals.  There  is  no 
attempt  to  make  the  hut  of  the  poor  man  comfortable;  it  is 
only  high  enough  to  enable  the  inmates  to  stand  upright  in 
the  centre,  and  wide  enough  to  allow  them  to  spread  out  at 
night  a  roughly  dressed  cow-hide,  upon  which  they  sleep, 
stretching  themselves  near  the  fire  for  warmth,  with  little  or 
no  covering.  As  milk  is  their  chief  diet,  no  provision  is  made 
for  cooking;  but  should  they  obtain  any  beef,  it  is  cooked  upon 
wooden  spits  stuck  into  the  ground  round  the  fire;  no  other 
method  of  cooking  meat  is  used,  and  there  is  no  desire  to  learn. 
Meat  is  obtained  when  an  animal  dies,  or  when  it  is  accidentally 
killed  by  falling  into  some  pit,  or  when  it  is  attacked  by  wild 
beasts  and  maimed,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  kill  it;  other- 
wise an  animal  is  seldom  slaughtered.  No  matter  what  the 
cause  of  death  may  be,  the  meat  is  cut  up  and  eaten  by  the 
poorer  class  of  herdsmen.  No  sanitary  arrangements  are  made 
by  these  nomads  to  keep  their  homes  healthy;  the  ordinary 
dung  heap  in  the  kraal  is  used  for  all  purposes  of  sanitation; 
hence  it  is  well  that  they  have  to  move  on  from  place  to  place 
after  a  short  time  of  residence,  and  that  both  huts  and  kraal 
soon  disappear  before  the  tropical  rain  and  sun;  and  so  the 
place  is  cleansed  by  atmospheric  influence.  The  grass  fires 
which  take  place  annually  with  unfailing  regularity  are  a 
boon  to  the  people  in  many  ways,  for  not  only  is  the  old 
vegetation  removed,  but  also  many  kinds  of  insects  are  de- 
stroyed and  the  ground  is  made  ready  for  the  rains  to  wash 
the  surface,  and  cause  the  beneficial  chemicals  from  the  burnt 
grass  to  sink  into  the  ground  and  fertilise  the  new  grass  for 
the  cattle.  Reptiles  are  also  kept  down  by  these  fires,  and 
many  kinds  of  cattle  ticks  and  lice  are  cleared  off,  which 
would  otherwise  make  the  land  unbearable. 

The  agricultural  clans  are  naturally  wedded  to  localities  near 
their  plots  of  arable  land;  these  build  more  durable  huts  than 
do  the  pastoral  clans,  but  even  their  houses  are  very  inferior 
to  those  of  Uganda  and  Busoga.  These  serfs  are  also  of  a 
lower  type  than  the  Basoga  and  live  in  a  miserable  condition; 


17—2 


260  THE  PEOPLE  OF  BUNYORO  [CH 


they  are  not  unlike  the  serfs  on  Luenzori.  Their  staple  food  is 
small  millet,  which  they  grind  into  flour  by  rubbing  the  grain 
between  stones,  and  then  they  make  the  flour  into  porridge. 
They  rear  herds  of  goats,  which  are  especially  used  for  the 
purchase  of  wives;  they  seldom  slaughter  one  of  them  for 
food,  except  upon  some  ceremonial  occasion,  such  as  a  wedding, 
or  when  they  are  obliged  to  honour  some  ghost.  Both  men  and 
women  work  in  the  fields;  they  hoe  the  ground  with  short 
handled  hoes  having  iron  blades;  they  turn  it  up  into  rough 
clods,  leaving  it  to  be  pulverised  by  the  sun  and  rain.  Millet 
is  dropped  into  holes  made  by  digging  the  hoe  into  the  earth 
and  lifting  a  little  soil  out,  two  or  three  grains  of  millet 
being  then  dropped  into  each  hole,  and  covered  by  pushing 
back  the  earth  with  the  foot.  When  land  ceases  to  bear  well, 
it  is  left  to  rest  for  a  period  of  two  or  three  years,  during  which 
time  another  plot  is  cultivated. 

The  pastoral  tribes  are  particular  about  the  clothing  of 
their  women,  though  the  men  are  indifferent  to  dress  and  wear 
only  a  small  cape  over  their  shoulders ;  the  women  are  covered 
from  head  to  foot,  and,  like  their  Bahima  sisters,  they  are 
careful  not  to  expose  their  faces  when  they  go  abroad.  Among 
the  agricultural  clans  in  this  country  the  custom  of  clothing 
is  different ;  both  men  and  women  wear  merely  a  loin-cloth,  or 
a  garment  which  is  frequently  only  the  skin  of  a  goat  tied 
round  the  loins.  Betore  the  advent  of  the  European  govern- 
ment there  were  no  roads  in  Bunyoro,  but  only  tracks  leading 
from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another,  and  the  grass  was 
kept  trodden  down  by  people  passing  with  their  herds  to 
and  from  the  capital.  The  king  with  his  leading  chiefs  had  a 
settled  place  of  abode  which  was  termed  his  capital;  it  was 
merely  a  collection  of  poorly  built  huts  with  rude  elephant- 
grass  fences  round  them;  outside  this  enclosure  the  principal 
chiefs  were  desired  to  build  their  huts,  in  order  to  be  the  better 
able  to  guard  their  king  from  the  attacks  of  any  foe.  The  huts 
of  the  chiefs  were  inferior  to  those  of  the  king,  and  were  always 
untidy  owing  to  the  presence  of  cattle  and  the  litter  which 
the  animals  made;  even  the  huts  of  the  king  were  inferior 
to  those  of  the  peasants  in  Uganda. 


XVI] 


BUNYORO  SALT  MINES 


261 


The  country  was  divided  into  districts  with  nominal 
boundaries;  each  district  had  a  chief  who  ruled  over  it  and 
was  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  the  peasants.  The  land 
valuation  differed  from  that  in  Uganda:  there  the  arable 
land  was  chiefly  prized,  whereas  here  the  pasturage  was  the 
more  valued.  The  serfs  paid  no  pre-arranged  rent,  but  gave 
a  yearly  present  of  corn  to  the  over-lord,  as  much  or  as  little 
as  they  chose.  The  value  of  having  a  district  lay  in  the  fact  that 
every  chief  was  able  to  keep  his  cattle  separate  from  those  of 
his  neighbour,  and  was  also  able  to  regulate  his  pasturage 
within  his  own  boundaries,  and  to  provide  for  a  continual 
supply  of  food  for  his  large  herds  by  burning  off  the  coarse 
overgrowth,  while  the  herds  pastured  in  another  place.  There 
was  no  taxation  of  a  fixed  nature,  though  people  living  near 
the  salt  districts,  as  being  the  richest  in  the  country,  were 
asked  by  the  king  for  salt  for  the  use  of  his  household.  Bunyoro 
has  for  many  years  been  the  great  salt  producing  country  of 
this  part  of  Africa,  and  has  supplied  most  of  the  markets  for 
miles  round  with  this  valuable  commodity,  so  eagerly  sought 
after  by  every  class.  The  craving  for  salt  among  peoples 
who  are  almost  entirely  vegetarians  is  great,  and  high  prices 
used  to  be  paid  to  retailers,  who  made  up  small  packets  of  salt 
and  sold  them  in  the  market  places.  Salt  was  obtained  from 
certain  rivers,  and  from  one  of  the  lakes,  where  the  brine 
encrusts  on  the  edge  of  the  water,  and  is  gathered  with  a 
quantity  of  sand,  washed,  and  boiled  down  by  the  women  of 
the  district.  The  railway  has  now  made  it  possible  to  obtain 
a  much  better  quality  of  salt  from  the  coast  at  small  cost, 
and  this  has  to  a  large  extent  taken  the  place  of  the  native 
salt,  which  is  of  a  poor  quality,  and  full  of  grit  and  soda. 
The  time  may  come  when  some  enterprising  company  may 
start  salt  works  in  these  regions;  and  possibly  it  may  also 
discover  some  valuable  drug  in  the  waters  of  the  volcanic 
springs  which  produce  the  salt  water.  Until  then  the  native 
must  be  satisfied  with  his  primitive  and  inexpensive 
methods  of  winning  the  salt  and  supplying  the  needs  of 
his  brethren. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


NILOTIC  KAVIRONDO— GLIMPSES  OF  TRIBES  ON 
THE  WAY  TO  THE  COAST— MOMBASA  WITH  ITS 
NEW  ENVIRONMENTS 

SOME  day  when  the  migrations  of  the  tribes  of  Africa 
shall  be  known,  we  may  be  able  to  unravel  the  mystery 
of  the  Nilotics,  as  to  who  they  are  and  whence  they  came, 
and  to  show  the  relation  of  one  tribe  to  the  other;  at  present 
we  can  only  make  surmises  and  rough  guesses,  from  certain 
common  features  and  customs  which  point  to  relationship, 
and  from  the  affinity  of  the  languages.  The  Nilotic  Kavirondo, 
about  whom  I  wish  to  say  a  little,  live  in  the  hills  near  Lake 
Victoria,  but  differ  almost  in  every  respect  from  the  Bantu 
Kavirondo,  who  live  in  the  plains  and  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake.  These  Nilotic  people  are  absolutely  nude  and  think 
clothing  indecent ;  when  a  Christian  mission  was  started  among 
them,  and  some  youths  who  had  been  staying  at  a  boarding 
school  went  home  wearing  clothes,  their  parents  scolded 
them  for  doing  so,  and  told  them  they  were  to  put  their  clothes 
away  until  they  went  back  to  school,  and  not  to  bring  disgrace 
upon  their  village  by  wearing  them. 

In  these  mountain  homes  the  mornings  and  evenings  are 
cold,  yet  the  people  do  not  seem  to  feel  the  changes  of 
temperature ;  they  move  along  happily  in  the  early  mornings 
in  the  sharp  air  as  though  they  enjoyed  it,  making  journeys 
to  their  fields  in  the  valleys.  The  young  men  often  use  oxen 
as  riding  animals;  one  particular  sight  I  well  remember, 
which  was  as  amusing  as  it  was  interesting.  A  number  of 
young  men  were  to  be  seen  riding  about  on  oxen  which 
trotted  along  at  a  good  pace.  Each  animal  was  guided 
by  a  rod,  held  first  on  one  side  of  the  head,  and  then  the 
other,  to  turn  it  as  the  rider  wished  it  to  go.  The  animals 
were  evidently  accustomed  to  the  task,  and  I  learned  that 
these  youths  used  them  for  riding  when  making  journeys  in 


ch.  xvii]     KAVIRONDO  NILOTIC  PEOPLE  263 


their  neighbourhood.  The  people  are  fond  of  personal  orna- 
ments and  of  decorating  themselves  with  paint;  they  make 
straw  hats  which  are  in  size  and  shape  like  dolls'  hats, 
quite  unsuited  for  any  useful  purpose;  these  tiny  hats  are 
fastened  on  the  head  with  a  string  passing  under  the  chin. 
One  young  man  who  visited  me  was  particularly  impressed 
by  my  spectacles,  and  followed  me  about,  unable  to  tear 
himself  away  until  he  had  satisfied  himself  that  they  were 
artificial  and  no  growth,  though  at  the  time  I  was  unconscious 
of  the  cause  of  his  attentions.  On  the  following  day  he  appeared 
with  a  pair  of  straw  rims  round  his  eyes  in  imitation  of  my 
spectacles,  and  solemnly  sat  in  front  of  me  without  a  word, 
until  he  had  been  noticed  and  commended  for  his  ingenuity 
in  making  these  spectacles,  and  for  fastening  them  on  so 
cleverly  with  fine  string. 

There  appears  to  be  no  regular  form  of  worship  of  gods, 
and  they  know  little  or  nothing  about  working  magic;  they 
have,  however,  a  form  of  worship  of  the  dead;  for  other 
purposes  they  employ  a  medicine-man  from  an  outside  tribe 
to  be  their  priest  and  rain-maker,  and  pay  him  in  kind  for  his 
work,  in  addition  to  making  him  a  regular  allowance  of  food, 
providing  a  house  and  giving  him  honour  in  their  midst.  The 
medicine-man  whom  I  saw  was  a  member  of  one  of  the  Bantu 
tribes,  and  his  special  art  was  in  accordance  with  the  customs 
of  his  own  people.  Apart  from  this  borrowed  priest  and  his 
religion,  the  people  follow  their  own  rites  of  the  worship  of  the 
dead;  they  believe  in  a  world  of  ghosts,  and  take  elaborate 
precautions  to  pacify  them.  When  a  man  dies,  he  is  buried 
beneath  the  floor  of  his  house,  and  his  widow  continues  to  live 
in  it,  separated  from  other  women;  she  has  to  be  particularly 
chaste  during  the  months  of  mourning,  and  has  to  keep  a  pot 
of  beer  standing  on  the  grave  for  the  ghost,  and  to  keep  the 
hut  tidy.  Her  girdle  of  grass,  which  is  the  mark  of  a  married 
woman  in  this  district,  is  taken  off  and  placed  over  the  door 
on  the  roof,  as  a  token  to  any  visitor  that  the  man  is  dead, 
and  that  his  widow  is  mourning  for  him. 

There  is  a  belief  that  ghosts  can  be  detained  by  the  living; 


264  KAVIRONDO  PEOPLE  AND  THEIR  BELIEFS  [ch. 


indeed  all  ghosts  are  detained,  until  certain  ceremonies  have 
been  performed  by  the  relatives,  in  order  to  release  them 
from  their  old  haunts  and  enable  them  to  go  to  the  ghost 
world;  should  these  ceremonies  be  neglected,  the  poor  ghost  is 
detained,  and  is  angered  and  becomes  dangerous  to  the  com- 
munity. In  like  manner  when  a  man  murders  another,  or 
wounds  him  so  that  he  dies  from  the  wound,  or  when  in  battle 
one  man  kills  another,  the  warrior  or  the  murderer  has  to 
perform  certain  ceremonies,  which  release  the  ghost  from  the 
person  of  him  who  killed  him,  and  until  he  consents  to  do  so 
the  ghost  is  captive,  though  it  longs  to  go  away.  Should  a 
man  refuse  to  perform  the  rites,  it  is  believed  that  the  ghost 
will  eventually  seize  and  strangle  him.  When  a  man  has  killed 
another  either  wilfully  or  accidentally,  he  is  secluded  for  a 
time  from  his  companions  and  lives  in  a  hut  built  at  the 
entrance  of  the  village,  where  he  is  fed  by  an  old  woman, 
because  he  must  not  touch  food  with  his  hands,  since  they 
are  contaminated,  and  might  convey  death  to  him.  At  the  end 
of  the  appointed  time  of  seclusion  the  taboo  man  is  washed  in 
running  water,  and  partakes  of  a  feast  cooked  by  his  guardian, 
and  after  the  meal  he  may  return  home  to  his  usual  life.  This 
belief  of  being  able  to  detain  a  ghost  is  not  in  agreement 
with  the  general  teaching  concerning  ghosts  in  this  part  of 
Africa;  ghosts  are  usually  thought  to  be  free  to  do  much  as 
they  like,  and  it  is  a  common  desire  of  the  living  to  be  rid 
of  them  as  quickly  as  possible.  Yet  this  custom  relating  to 
ghosts  in  Kavirondo  is  not  an  isolated  instance,  for  in  Busoga, 
at  the  funeral  of  a  chief,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  principal  wife 
to  catch  two  handfuls  of  the  earth  which  is  being  cast  into 
the  grave,  and  to  throw  it  over  the  nearest  tree,  saying: 
"If  anyone  has  detained  you,  go  free."  The  supposed  captor 
is  thought  to  be  the  man  who  by  some  actual  deed  or  by 
magic  has  caused  the  death;  and  this  action  of  throwing  a 
ball  of  earth  from  the  grave  over  the  tree  is  supposed  to  be 
stronger  than  the  strongest  magic  intended  to  detain  a  ghost 
from  going  to  the  place  of  the  departed.  Among  Nilotic  Kavi- 
rondo the  chief  purpose  of  the  mourning  duties  of  the  wife 


xvii]  NATIVE  CUSTOMS  INFRINGED  265 


is  to  enable  the  ghost  to  go  free  and  reach  its  home,  with 
the  satisfaction  of  believing  that  it  is  missed,  and  wanted  by 
those  whom  it  has  left.  When  the  mourning  ends,  and  the 
widow  is  purified,  she  is  free  to  seek  remarriage ;  but  before 
these  ceremonies  end,  and  the  final  purificatory  ceremony  has 
taken  place,  the  widow  still  belongs  to  the  ghost  and  has  to 
act  for  its  benefit  in  the  hut  in  which  the  body  lies,  for  she  is 
considered  to  be  still  the  wife  of  the  deceased. 

There  are  several  Nilotic  tribes  to  be  found  in  a  district 
extending  some  miles  near  the  south-east  coast  of  the  Lake 
Victoria  Nyanza;  they  seem  to  be  immigrants  who  have 
worked  their  way  through  Bantu  tribes,  and  have  settled  in 
their  midst,  though  they  keep  free  from  intermarriage  with 
them,  and  also  retain  their  own  language  and  customs. 
Physically  they  are  quite  as  strong  and  robust  as  the  Bantu 
people,  but  in  their  religious  customs  they  take  a  lower  place, 
though  we  may  possibly  find,  when  we  know  them  better,  that 
strong  religious  beliefs  exist  which  at  present  we  do  not  under- 
stand. Several  of  these  Nilotic  tribes  in  the  past  were  fierce 
and  warlike,  and  had  to  be  reduced,  before  they  would  submit 
to  British  rule.  Some  of  the  troubles  have  arisen  through  our 
infringing  their  laws,  injuring  their  feelings,  and  violating  their 
superstitions  owing  to  ignorance  of  their  customs;  we  failed  to 
respect  certain  rites,  thus  making  enemies  by  persisting  in 
a  line  of  conduct  which  we  should  not  have  followed,  had  we 
understood  their  religious  scruples.  On  this  account  it  would 
be  wise  to  give  every  European  some  training  in  the  customs 
and  beliefs  of  primitive  people,  before  allowing  him  to  go  to 
their  country;  it  would  make  him  careful  not  to  form  hasty 
conclusions  in  matters  on  which  they  hold  firmly-rooted 
opinions.  Such  knowledge  would  save  the  individual  much 
trouble,  and  in  some  instances  would  also  save  the  Government 
much  money  and  loss  of  life,  not  to  speak  of  the  loss  of  the 
goodwill  of  the  natives,  when,  for  example,  some  resistance 
is  made,  and  a  punitive  expedition  has  to  be  undertaken. 
When  the  railroad  was  first  built,  and  the  telegraph  wires  were 
laid,  the  people  in  certain  localities  were  greatly  incensed  at 


266  SOME  NATIVE  SUPERSTITIONS  [ch. 


the  presence  of  these  wires,  because  they  were  sure  that  these 
innovations  would  cause  trouble  with  their  gods;  and  when 
there  was  a  scarcity  of  food  in  Busoga  owing  to  lack  ot  rain, 
the  people  attributed  it  to  the  telegraph  wires;  so  they  cut 
and  carried  off  long  pieces  of  the  wire,  thinking  thus  to  please 
their  gods  and  secure  the  necessary  rain  for  their  crops. 
Other  tribes  dug  up  the  rails  of  the  railroad,  because  they 
felt  sure  that  these  things  were  the  cause  of  drought  and  of 
sickness.  In  later  times  many  of  the  dwellers  on  the  islands 
of  Lake  Victoria  have  attributed  sleeping  sickness  to  the 
introduction  of  European  methods  into  the  country,  and 
especially  to  Christianity.  Because  the  gods  have  been 
neglected  and  are  angry,  they  send  sickness  and  death :  so  the 
old  priests  tell  the  people.  To  reason  out  clearly  cause  and 
effect  in  cases  of  disaster  may  be  too  difficult  for  the  native, 
still  he  has  reason  for  associating  sleeping  sickness  with  the 
European.  There  was  no  such  sickness  in  the  country  until 
men  coming  from  the  Congo  with  Stanley,  or  following  him, 
introduced  it.  Again,  the  removal  of  tribal  barriers,  and  the 
safety  with  which  one  tribe  can  visit  another  has  been  the 
cause  of  introducing  many  new  diseases  and  other  ills  utterly 
unknown  in  ages  past.  Smallpox  was  in  the  past  attributed 
to  armies  invading  other  countries  and  bringing  back  some 
one  afflicted  with  the  disease.  Now  that  people  are  able  to 
make  long  journeys  into  other  states  without  danger  to  life, 
such  journeys  are  often  undertaken,  and  the  intercourse 
of  tribes  with  one  another  has  introduced  new  risks  of 
infection.  Another  disadvantage  of  this  free  tribal  inter- 
course among  pastoral  tribes  has  been  the  introduction  of 
cattle  diseases;  tribal  barriers  used  to  prevent  the  passage  of 
animals  and  goods  from  one  tribe  to  another  for  trading 
purposes,  and  wild  animals  were  never  known  in  the  past  to 
have  spread  cattle  disease  over  any  wide  area  in  Africa. 

The  warlike  Nandi  have  almost  disappeared  from  the  con- 
fines of  the  railway;  they  proved  to  be  so  troublesome  that 
they  were  eventually  driven  by  a  force  of  British  troops 
from  their  old  homes,  and  they  are  now  restricted  to  a  corner 


XVII] 


THE  MASAI  AS  POLICEMEN 


267 


of  their  former  fair  land.  The  far-famed  Masai,  the  most 
dreaded  warriors  of  olden  times,  have  become  so  docile,  that 
it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  they  were  ever  a  scourge  in  East 
Africa.  Numbers  of  them  may  now  be  seen  dressed  in  the 
uniform  of  British  troops,  shouldering  modern  rifles,  and 
acting  as  police  along  the  railway.  Though  much  of  the  present 
peaceful  condition  of  the  Masai  is  due  to  British  occupation, 
and  to  the  tact  shown  by  the  District  Commissioners,  it  is 
not  entirely  the  work  of  our  countrymen;  the  terrible  cattle 
plague  mentioned  above  carried  off  the  large  herds  of  the  Masai, 
reducing  them,  not  only  to  poverty,  but  almost  to  starva- 
tion, and  they  were  forced  to  adopt  a  vegetable  diet  or  to  die. 
Many  of  this  fine  race  died  during  those  hard  times,  leaving 
to  the  most  sturdy  young  members  the  task  of  building  up 
their  tribe  to  its  former  greatness.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  they  would  have  recovered  their  old  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence, had  not  the  British  arrived  on  the  scene  at  the 
time  of  their  extreme  need  and  given  them  new  motives 
in  life,  while  they  were  still  in  a  pliable  condition,  needing  a 
helping  hand  to  raise  them  from  poverty.  They  have  now  been 
made  to  understand  that  they  can  no  longer  raid  cattle 
or  murder  people  as  before,  hence  their  warlike  instincts  find 
an  outlet  in  acting  as  police  and  as  soldiers  for  the  Govern- 
ment. There  are  to  be  found  places  where  herds  of  cattle 
are  reared  and  tended  by  Masai  as  before;  but  how  far 
the  old  rigid  milk  customs  are  observed  I  have  had  no 
opportunity  of  testing,  and  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  other 
works  on  the  habits  of  the  Masai.  There  are  many  miles  of 
grass  plains,  where  the  Masai  formerly  roamed  as  lords  with 
their  large  herds  of  cattle,  which  are  now  being  turned  to 
agricultural  purposes  by  settlers.  To  these  fertile  regions 
numbers  of  Englishmen  are  being  attracted,  and  they  have 
begun  to  grow  many  kinds  of  crops  well  known  in  England; 
over  and  above  these  are  the  crops  peculiar  to  tropical 
countries,  particularly  cotton,  rubber,  and  cocoa,  which  are 
giving  great  promise.  The  long  rolling  plains  with  here  and 
there  lovely  mountain  scenery,  which  at  one  time  were  the 


268       NAIROBI,  CAPITAL  OF  EAST  AFRICA  [ch. 


undisputed  haunts  of  the  Masai,  who  only  shared  their  right 
to  these  magnificent  lands  with  the  wild  beasts,  are  now 
being  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  world. 

Midway  between  the  coast  and  Lake  Victoria  is  the  large 
town  of  Nairobi,  which  has  sprung  up  with  amazing  rapidity. 
It  is  the  headquarters  of  the  Government  of  British  East 
Africa,  and  the  railway  works  are  also  established  there. 
The  first  Government  of  the  East  African  Protectorate  was 
established  on  the  island  of  Mombasa,  and  for  some  years 
the  railway  headquarters  were  on  the  coast.  This  was  found 
to  be  unhealthy,  while  the  highland  in  the  interior  was  com- 
paratively healthy,  and  gradually  the  whole  machinery 
for  working  the  Protectorate  has  been  moved  to  the  Nairobi 
plateau.  This  change  affords  space  to  the  Government  to 
build  a  town  on  an  approved  plan,  as  well  as  in  a  healthy 
locality.  Moreover  the  town  can  be  built  on  scientific 
principles  for  width  of  streets,  drainage  and  supply  of  water, 
which  was  impossible  in  Mombasa,  unless  one  did  violence 
to  the  rights  of  native  residents,  whose  forefathers  for  centuries 
had  lived  and  died  there.  When  I  first  knew  Nairobi,  only 
a  few  years  ago  (it  was  during  the  rainy  season),  the  place 
seemed  to  be  a  marshy  spot,  with  one  hut,  in  which  were 
stored  the  parts  of  the  first  steamer  destined  for  Lake 
Victoria.  Owing  to  the  breakdown  of  transport,  the  parts  were 
housed  and  guarded  there,  and  were  awaiting  a  fresh  supply 
of  porters  from  the  coast.  Now  there  are  hundreds  of  houses 
of  all  kinds  of  structure  and  material,  from  the  well  built 
stone  houses  of  the  Governor  and  the  chief  members  of  the 
Government  to  the  small  grass  hut  of  the  native;  there  are 
also  water-works,  and  large  works  for  carriage  and  locomotive 
building,  and  for  repairing  the  rolling  stock  of  the  railway. 
Roads  have  been  constructed,  and  places  of  amusement 
built  in  addition  to  those  for  business  and  instruction. 
It  is  the  great  centre  of  East  Africa,  and  there  are 
stores  and  shops  supplying  all  manner  of  goods,  to  satisfy 
the  needs  of  hundreds  of  people  and  of  the  many  farmers 
in  the  vicinity.  It  is  the  high  table-land  of  East  Africa,  where 


xvii]     NAIROBI  AS  A  SETTLER'S  COUNTRY  269 


Europeans  may  live  in  comparatively  good  health,  if  they 
are  careful  to  follow  the  ordinary  rules  of  life  in  the  tropics. 
Land  has  been  purchased  by  numbers  of  Englishmen,  who 
hope  to  be  able  to  settle  there  for  life,  without  ever  returning 
to  England.  In  the  neighbourhood  there  is  land  suited  for 
almost  all  kinds  of  farm  produce  that  will  grow  in  tropical 
and  semi-tropical  countries;  and  fruit  and  plants  which 
require  a  temperate  climate  seem  also  to  thrive.  Cotton 
plantations  are  being  cultivated  with  considerable  success, 
and  cattle  farming  is  being  given  a  fair  trial,  indeed  almost 
all  kinds  of  farming  are  being  tested. 

This  high  table-land  is  indeed  a  land  of  promise,  but  it 
needs  the  right  men  to  make  it  a  success  and  a  place  upon 
which  the  British  nation  can  look  with  pleasure  and  pride. 
Whether  the  country  will  ever  be  suited  for  Europeans  as 
a  permanent  home,  where  they  can  live  without  returning 
to  Europe  for  periodical  change  on  account  of  health,  still 
remains  to  be  proved.  Most  Europeans  who  have  lived  in 
the  tropics  for  long  find  that  they  need  change  to  a  cold 
climate  every  few  years  to  brace  them  up  and  restore  their 
shattered  nerves,  and  the  benefits  of  the  English  winter  enable 
them  to  return  to  their  duties  with  the  zeal  necessary  for 
success.  For  settlers  the  highlands  near  Nairobi  are  un- 
doubtedly the  most  suitable  country  in  East  Africa,  having 
cool  nights,  and  days  which,  though  hot,  yet  in  the  shade 
do  not  exceed  the  heat  of  an  English  summer  day.  Time  alone 
will  prove  whether  the  settlers  will  find  the  place  suitable 
for  continued  residence,  where  their  children  can  live  and 
thrive.  Before  the  question  can  be  settled,  many  hardships 
will  have  to  be  endured,  many  risks  run,  and  probably  lives 
laid  down.  The  lonely  life  which  many  of  these  farmers  are 
compelled  to  lead  makes  it  necessary  to  find  men  who  are 
prepared  to  live  without  social  intercourse  with  their  fellow 
men  for  long  periods  at  a  time.  They  need  to  be  men  of  some 
character,  who,  when  they  go  into  towns,  are  able  to  with- 
stand the  temptations  of  evil  associates,  for  men  are  to 
be  found  there,  who  have  yielded  to  the  excessive  use  of 


270  THE  KIKUYU  TRIBE  [ch. 

alcohol  and  to  gambling;  these  men  have  thrown  away  their 
own  chances  of  success,  and  now  seek  to  drag  others  down 
to  their  own  dreadful  plane  of  life. 

In  Uganda  there  is  every  prospect  of  cotton  growing 
becoming  a  remunerative  occupation,  while  rubber,  coffee, 
cocoa,  and  grain  will  be  found  to  be  profitable,  though  there 
may  not  be  the  same  facilities  for  exporting  these  crops. 
The  land  will  grow  the  crops  mentioned,  but  whether 
they  can  be  grown  and  carried  to  the  markets  at  a  cost 
which  will  enable  the  growers  to  compete  with  other  districts 
nearer  to  railroads  and  to  the  coast  is  still  a  question  which 
time  and  fair  trials  will  settle.  Tea  has  not  been  given  sufficient 
trial  to  permit  a  sound  and  reliable  opinion  being  formed. 
The  chief  agriculturists  in  Uganda  are  the  natives  themselves, 
who  sell  their  farm  produce  to  European  middlemen  in 
the  raw  state;  it  has  then  to  be  prepared  for  market; 
cotton  is  jinned,  pressed,  and  bound  in  bales  for  exporta- 
tion. Though  the  native  will  sell  his  raw  cotton  for  a  com- 
paratively small  amount,  the  export  merchant  has  to  consider 
the  long  railway  journey  to  the  port  for  exportation,  which 
his  neighbour  near  the  coast  escapes. 

The  district  stretching  from  Nairobi  away  to  Mount  Kenia 
is  thickly  populated  by  the  Kikuyu  tribe,  who  in  many 
respects  seem  to  resemble  the  Masai,  though  they  differ  from 
them  in  almost  every  detail  when  more  closely  studied.  Still, 
to  the  casual  observer  there  is  a  similarity;  they  are  tall, 
well-built  men,  attired  much  after  the  style  of  the  Masai,  with 
small  capes  round  their  shoulders  and  a  heart-shaped  piece  of 
skin  hung  behind  them  from  the  waist,  which  forms  a  seat 
when  they  wish  to  sit  down.  They  use  copious  supplies  of 
vegetable  oil  and  the  fat  of  domestic  animals  to  rub  upon 
their  bodies,  they  paint  themselves  with  red  and  white  clay 
in  peculiar  figures  which  appear  to  be  tribal  designs,  and 
they  also  carry  long-bladed  spears  as  do  the  Masai.  A  passing 
acquaintance  did  not  enable  me  to  discover  their  points  of 
difference,  and  the  only  books  written  about  them  have  not 
dealt  with  these  subjects.  Though  the  tribe  possesses  large 


xvii]     WAKIKUYU  AND  WAKAMBA  TRIBES  271 


herds  of  cattle  and  goats  and  flocks  of  sheep,  they  are  a  semi- 
agricultural  tribe  of  the  Bantu  stock,  whereas  the  Masai  are 
not  Bantu,  and  are  pastoral.  The  Wakikuyu  are  a  settled 
people,  not  nomads,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Masai ;  agricultural 
pursuits  preclude  a  wandering  life.  The  people  build  in 
communities,  often  on  the  summits  of  hills  or  on  higher 
ground,  enclosing  a  number  of  houses  in  a  strong  stockade, 
intended  to  be  a  protection  against  theft  and  night  raids, 
which  used  to  be  commonly  made  by  the  Masai  for  the 
purpose  of  stealing  the  cattle.  Among  the  Wakikuyu  there 
are  to  be  found  men  with  primitive  ideas  of  working  iron 
and  also  wood;  they  are  quite  capable  of  fulfilling  all  the 
requirements  of  their  tribe,  and  are  able  to  supply  the 
people  with  the  necessary  implements  for  domestic  purposes 
and  also  with  weapons  of  war.  The  material  used  for  dress 
consisted  only  of  the  skins  of  domestic  animals,  with  a  few 
from  wild  animals  taken  in  the  chase;  these  they  roughly 
dressed  by  oiling  them  well  and  working  them  soft  and  pliable. 
When  cotton  goods  came  to  them  from  the  coast,  together 
with  Western  ideas,  the  old  dress  of  skins  began  to  fall  into 
disuse,  and  so  have  many  of  their  former  customs. 

As  we  pass  along  the  line  to  the  coast,  we  next  encounter 
the  Wakamba,  who  are  not  unlike  the  Wakikuyu  in  many 
respects.  They  also  belong  to  the  Bantu  family;  their  dress 
is  as  scanty  as  that  of  the  Wakikuyu;  and  their  love  of 
smearing  oils  and  fat  upon  themselves  from  head  to  foot  and 
rubbing  on  coloured  clay  is  quite  as  great.  For  many  years 
I  have  known  these  people  to  be  a  tribe  of  successful  hunters. 
In  following  the  chase,  in  addition  to  their  skilful  use  of  the 
spear,  they  use  a  strong  bow,  and  the  best  manufactured 
arrows  in  this  part  of  Africa  are  to  be  found  among  them. 
They  are  experts  in  bringing  down  game  with  their  poisoned 
arrows,  and  in  time  of  war  these  weapons  render  them 
formidable  foes.  Most  of  the  large  villages  are  built  among  the 
hills,  usually  on  the  hill-tops,  to  make  them  more  difficult 
for  the  Masai  to  reach,  when  they  are  raiding  cattle,  than 
they  would  be  if  on  the  plains.  Fertile  valleys  are  chosen 


272  SCENERY  ON  MAU  ESCARPMENT  [ch. 


for  the  cultivation  of  maize,  millet,  and  the  sweet  potato, 
because  these  people  are  agricultural,  though  possessed  of 
numbers  of  cattle.  The  villagers,  men  and  women,  descend 
to  their  fields  every  morning,  and  work  steadily  until  the  sun 
tells  them  it  is  noon,  when  they  return  home  carrying  food, 
fire- wood,  and  often  a  water-pot.  The  cattle,  goats,  and  sheep 
are  herded  on  the  hill-sides,  where  they  are  less  liable  to  be 
captured  by  their  enemies  than  they  would  be  in  the  valleys, 
where  the  paths  and  roads  run  from  one  part  of  the  country 
to  another. 

The  country  from  Lake  Victoria  to  the  Mau  escarpment 
is  of  an  undulating  character  with  here  and  there  some  fine 
hills.  During  the  months  of  dry  weather  the  grass  becomes 
dry,  and  most  of  the  trees  become  leafless,  except  in  the 
regions  of  water,  where  the  grass  and  trees  are  evergreen.  The 
engineering  difficulties  in  building  the  railway  from  the  coast 
to  Lake  Victoria  were  great,  especially  in  the  Mau  district, 
where  the  land  seems  to  rise  like  a  huge  wall  from  the  plain. 
To  obtain  the  necessary  gradient  in  ascending  the  escarp- 
ment, the  railway  takes  a  spiral  course  of  the  most  interesting 
character,  and  the  traveller  looks  down  upon  tracts  of  land 
which  he  has  passed  through,  sometimes  with  a  feeling  of 
incredulity,  as  he  sees  fresh  objects  of  interest  which  he  failed 
to  notice  when  near  them.  In  descending  the  escarpment  the 
scenery  is  even  more  picturesque  than  in  ascending,  with 
wooded  hills  and  ravines  with  cascades  of  water,  which  dash 
down  deep  gorges  containing  the  most  beautiful  tropical  vege- 
tation and  ferns  of  all  kinds.  When  the  railway  was  being  con- 
structed, before  the  line  which  nowwends  itsway  down  the  hills 
to  the  plain  on  the  side  nearer  to  the  Victoria  Lake  was  open  for 
passenger  traffic,  we  had  to  climb  the  escarpment  on  foot,  while 
our  goods  were  sent  up  in  a  lift.  On  one  occasion  my  goods 
were  detained  owing  to  a  rain-storm,  and  the  train  left  me  be- 
hind ;  for  I  preferred  to  remain  with  my  baggage  than  to  go  on 
without  it.  I  was  informed  that  there  would  be  no  other 
passenger  train  to  Nairobi  for  some  days,  but  I  obtained 
permission  to  travel  by  goods-train  in  a  covered  iron  truck. 


PLATE  XVIII 


DUG-OUT  CANOE  IN  PROCESS  OF  BEING  BUILT 


PLATE  XIX 


:  f 


ANKOLE  PASTORAL  HUTS 


EUROPEAN  S  HOUSE  AND  GARDEN 


xvii]  RAILWAY  VERSUS  TRAVELLING  ON  FOOT  273 


I  lived  in  this  with  my  boys,  dividing  the  truck  into  three 
rooms  by  hanging  tent  and  tent  awning  across,  and  using  one 
part  as  a  bedroom  and  the  middle  part  as  a  sittingroom,  while 
the  boys  used  the  third  part  as  a  kitchen  and  their  sleeping 
room.  With  the  doors  open  on  one  side,  and  a  deck-chair 
placed  near  the  opening,  I  had  a  novel  experience,  and  on 
the  whole  it  was  a  comfortable  run  to  Nairobi,  lasting  two 
days  and  one  night.  When  we  arrived  at  Nairobi,  we  had 
to  wait  three  or  four  days  for  a  train  to  the  coast,  but  through 
the  kindness  of  the  traffic  manager  I  was  allowed  the  use  of 
a  guard's  van  for  a  house,  instead  of  having  to  pitch  my  tent, 
and  my  boys  cooked  my  meals  near  by  at  the  side  of  the 
railway. 

When  the  train  leaves  Nairobi,  it  crosses  the  Athi  plain 
which  is  full  of  game ;  this  is  indeed  one  of  the  greatest  shows 
of  wild  animals  which  the  world  can  produce.  There  are  zebras, 
and  many  kinds  of  antelopes,  with  here  and  there  a  lion,  wild 
boars,  ostriches,  and  other  kinds  of  animals  peculiar  to 
Africa,  which  have  now  become  so  accustomed  to  the  railway 
trains,  that  they  do  little  more  than  trot  to  a  safe  distance, 
or  merely  raise  their  heads  to  look,  and  then  go  on  grazing, 
while  the  trains  run  past.  Herds  of  these  animals  may  be 
seen  from  the  railway  carriage,  which  must  often  number  a 
hundred. 

Now  that  the  railway  is  finished,  it  is  possible  for  trains 
to  run  by  night,  whereas  at  first  they  only  ran  by  day,  when 
the  driver  could  see  that  the  line  had  not  been  washed  away 
by  a  sudden  rain-storm  and  subsequent  flood.  The  comfort 
of  the  railway  is  great,  when  compared  with  the  former 
laborious  and  slow  method  of  walking;  there  are  places  we 
pass  with  some  well  remembered  land-mark,  where  in  those 
old  days  of  journeying  on  foot  we  camped,  or  again  where 
some  difficulty  had  to  be  overcome  with  porters,  or  where 
there  was  lack  of  food  or  scarcity  of  water.  These  are 
things  of  the  past,  now  the  traveller  sits  in  luxury,  and 
the  train  stops  at  regular  places,  where  he  alights  for  a  meal 
prepared  for  him;  by  night  he  sleeps  in  comfort,  free  from 

R.U.  l8 


274 


THE  ISLAND  MOMBASA 


[CH. 


worry;  danger  from  some  night  attack  of  robbers  or  wild 
beasts  is  unknown,  the  only  inconvenience  being  a  coating  of 
dust,  which  has  penetrated  into  his  carriage  and  covered  his 
bedding  during  his  sleep. 

The  advent  of  the  railway  in  Mombasa  has  made  great 
changes.  The  small  island  has  passed  through  a  variety  of 
experiences  since  the  early  days  of  the  Portuguese.  At  one 
time  it  was  the  home  of  the  pioneer  missionaries  Krapf  and 
Rebmann;  the  former  arrived  in  a  dhow  in  1844  and 
established  himself  in  the  Arab  town,  and  later  was  joined 
by  Rebmann,  who  went  to  the  mainland  and  settled  at  Rabai. 
By  these  two  men  the  snow-capped  mountain  Kiliman- 
jaro was  discovered,  and  they  also  gave  to  the  world  the 
first  intimation  of  the  great  inland  seas,  which  led  to  the 
discovery  of  Lake  Victoria.  A  small  cemetery  containing  the 
graves  of  the  wives  of  these  pioneers  on  the  mainland  at 
Frere  Town  is  the  silent  memorial  of  their  labours.  Many 
people  come  and  go  to  Mombasa  without  ever  hearing  of  the 
quiet  resting-place  of  these  brave  women,  or  of  the  labours  of 
the  men  who  endured  so  much,  and  rendered  such  invaluable 
help  in  the  opening  up  of  Africa  to  civilisation.  The  cemetery 
is  off  the  track  trodden  by  visitors,  and  known  only  to  a 
few  residents  in  Mombasa, 

For  a  time  after  these  men  had  left,  the  island  was  without 
any  resident  European;  then  came  the  influx  of  Europeans 
for  the  purpose  of  building  the  railway,  and  both  Govern- 
ment officers  and  railway  officials  lived  here  for  a  time.  The 
houses  of  these  officers  were  built  at  some  distance  from  the 
dirty  native  town,  on  the  highest  part  of  the  island,  in  order 
to  obtain  the  most  healthy  conditions  of  Mombasa;  roads  were 
also  cut  and  gardens  laid  out.  When,  however,  the  railway 
opened  up  the  highlands  of  Nairobi  with  its  wonderful 
climate,  the  Government  and  railway  officials  moved  there; 
and  gradually  Mombasa  has  been  deprived  of  the  greater 
part  of  its  European  population,  and  retains  those  only  whose 
business  is  connected  with  shipping  and  so  forbids  their 
prolonged  absence  from  the  coast,  and  the  missionaries 


XVII] 


FRERE  TOWN 


275 


who,  with  the  Bishop  of  Eastern  Africa,  have  their  head- 
quarters on  the  island.  The  place  is  vastly  improved,  and 
it  has  been  of  much  more  importance  since  it  became  the 
terminus  of  the  railway,  and  its  new  harbour  on  the  south 
side  of  the  island,  with  a  good  entrance,  and  deep  water 
sufficient  for  ships  of  the  deepest  draught  to  enter  or  leave 
at  any  time  regardless  of  the  state  of  the  tide,  was  opened. 
Formerly  ships  arriving  at  ebb-tide  had  to  anchor,  or  cruise 
about  until  there  was  sufficient  water  for  them  to  get  over 
the  reef  which  runs  across  the  entrance  of  the  old  harbour ; 
this  reef  made  the  port  dangerous  and  difficult  for  navigation. 
The  railway  now  runs  down  to  a  sea-wall,  to  which  ships 
can  come,  and  this  circumstance  saves  time  and  expense  in 
loading  and  discharging  cargoes  from  large  ships.  The  old 
town  continues  much  as  it  was,  with  its  Arab  craft  lying  at 
anchor  before  it ;  but  few  Europeans  pass  through  the  narrow, 
dirty,  smelly  streets,  now  that  the  hotels  and  port  lie  away 
from  it.  Arabs,  Swahili,  and  various  mixed  people  from  India 
continue  to  inhabit  this  town,  living  happily  in  Eastern 
squalor. 

The  Bishop  of  East  Africa  lives  on  the  island  in  a  nice 
stone  house,  near  the  Hannington-Parker  Memorial  Church 
which  is  now  the  Cathedral ;  there  are  also  some  good  schools 
worked  by  the  missionaries  belonging  to  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society.  The  old  freed-slave  quarters  at  Frere  Town, 
called  after  Sir  B.  Frere,  who  did  so  much  for  the  suppression 
of  slavery  in  East  Africa,  have  dwindled  almost  to  nothing. 
The  mission  for  the  freed  slaves  was  on  the  mainland  opposite 
Mombasa,  but,  as  was  to  be  expected,  their  children  have 
grown  up,  and  the  slave  trade  has  died  down,  so  that  there 
are  now  no  more  slave  children  to  be  taught  in  the  old  school 
there.  In  the  past  much  good  was  done  in  the  place,  and 
there  are  some  godly  men  and  women  still  living  in  Frere 
Town,  who  passed  through  the  schools  as  freed  slave  children. 
A  link  with  the  past  is  to  be  found  in  Archdeacon  Binns,  who 
is  still  at  work  in  Mombasa  and  Frere  Town,  after  some  forty 
years'  residence,  with  a  noble  record  of  faithful  service.  Of 


18—2 


276 


AFRICA  A  LAND  OF  PROMISE      [ch.  xvii 


the  released  slaves  who  belong  to  the  early  days,  the  Rev.  I. 
Semler  still  lives;  he  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Hannington, 
before  the  latter  undertook  his  fatal  journey  into  the  interior. 
Thus  we  leave  the  bright  sunny  shores  of  Africa,  with  the 
interests  and  difficulties  of  the  country  opening  a  new  page 
of  its  history;  no  longer  the  almost  unknown  land,  but  a  land 
attracting  with  its  irresistible  charms  and  claims  the  eyes  of 
many  nations,  and  now  known  to  almost  every  school  child. 
It  is  indeed  a  veritable  land  of  promise,  a  land  of  adventure, 
and  a  land  which  will  throw  much  light  on  many  of  the  still 
unsolved  scientific  problems  of  life. 


INDEX 


Ability  of  native  women,  180 
Abode  of  god  of  plague,  158 
Aborigines,  agricultural,  250;  inToro, 
200,  205 

Absence  from  public  meetings,  184 
Abyssinian  raiders,  240 
Accidents,  bicycling,  218 
Admission  to  Barega  country  re- 
fused, 202 
Admitting  a  visitor  to  the  king,  187 
Adultery,  punishment  for,  166,  189 
Africa  a  land  of  promise,  276 
Agricultural  aborigines,  250 

—  clans,  in  Toro,  204 

—  people,  clothing  of,  260;  huts 
of,  259 

—  tribe,  in  Ankole,  209;  in  Bun- 
yoro,  250 

—  tribes,  taxation  of,  250;  work 
of,  257 

Agriculture,  and  milk  customs,  210; 

ceases  in  war-time,  108;  in  Koki, 

219;  pastoral  tribes  and,  257; 

Wakamba,  272;  Wamegi,  19 
Ammunition  introduced  by  Arabs, 

193 

Ancestry  of  pastoral  tribes,  139 
Animals,  and  the  trains,  273;  in 

Toro,  204 
Ankole,  agricultural  tribe  in,  209; 
Baganda  in,  210;  belief  in  trans- 
migration in,  214;  boundaries  of, 
208;  cattle  in,  ib.;  Christianity 
in,  209;  Christians  flee  to,  107; 
cotton  growing  in,  210;  in  fear 
of  Bunyoro,  250;  journey  by 
bicycle,  207;  ordinary  burial, 
214;  origin  of  name,  208;  physi- 
cal features,  209 ;  polygamy  and 
polyandry,  212;  princes  of,  210; 
royal  court,  211;  rubber  growing, 
210 

Appeal,  by  Bp.  Tucker,  124 ;  right  of, 
189 

Appearance  of  Wagogo,  46 

Appointing  chiefs,  212 

Apportioning  loads,  6 

Arab,  and  English,  hostility,  103, 
104,  105;  influence  among  Ba- 
ganda, 79,  97 ;  influence  on  archi- 
tecture, 132;  rebellion  against 
Mwanga,  107 ;  rising  against  Ger- 


mans, 36;  slave-traders,  9; 
slave-traders  and  currency,  193; 
town,  an,  5 ;  traders,  teaching  of, 
101 

Arabs,  depose  Kiwewa,  107;  intro- 
duce cotton,  firearms,  and  am- 
munition, 193;  murder  Baganda 
princesses,  108 
Architecture,  Arab  mnuence,  132 
Arms,  British  lack  of,  175 
Army  land,  Baganda,  90 
Arranging  the  march,  7 
Arrival  of  Sir  Gerald  Portal,  124 
Arrows,  poisoned,  202,  271 
Artisans,  chief's,  193;  Kikuyu,  271 
Ashe,  Rev.  R.  P.,  64,  104,  112,  113, 
114 

Athi  plain,  273 

Attempts  to  promote  home  life,  179 
Attendants,  king's  spirit,  149;  on 

king  in  court,  183 
Avoiding  enemies,  205 

Bafransa,  the  French  party,  109 
Bagamoyo,  imprisonment  in,  38-40 
Baganda,  and  Sudanese  rising,  127; 
Arab  influence,  79,  97  ;  army,  90; 
Army  land,  ib.;  belief  in  rein- 
carnation, 81;  burial  customs, 
ib. ;  burial  grounds,  83, 84 ;  chairs, 
100;  chiefs  in  Busoga,  245 ;  chiefs 
inTeso,  231,  234;  Christians,  171 ; 
civilization,  80;  cleanliness,  77, 
78;  clothing,  77;  counting,  101; 
currency,  97 ;  distribution  of  land, 
83;  ending  the  king's  life,  87-88; 
evangelists,  177;  famine  dis- 
tricts, 244;  government,  91; 
Hamitic  influence,  80;  hospita- 
lity, 187;  huts,  78;  in  Ankole, 
210;  in  Koki,  216;  killing  of  royal 
persons,  86;  king's  carriers,  89; 
king's  roads,  ib.;  losses  against 
Sudanese,  175;  love  of  war,  105; 
marriage  laws,  80,  94,  95 ;  mental 
qualities  and  courage,  171; 
method  of  promotion,  90;  Mo- 
hammedan, defeat  of,  131;  Nu- 
bian influence,  79;  offenders,  91; 
politeness,  69;  porters,  195; 
princesses,  85, 86;  Queen-mother, 
87;  rebels  in  S.  Uganda,  176; 


278 


INDEX 


religion,  134;  return  of  Islamic, 
122;  rights  of  peasants,  181; 
royal  enclosure,  88;  royal  suc- 
cession, 84,  85;  sanitation,  78; 
seize  Banyoro  land,  251;  slaves, 
93;  social  order,  77;  taxation, 
93;  Totemic  rules,  80;  use  of 
ivory,  98 

Bageshu,  234;  cannibals,  236;  clan 
rules,  238;  clothing,  237;  danger- 
ous to  white  men,  234 ;  huts,  238 ; 
initiation  ceremonies,  237;  said 
to  be  treacherous,  236;  stores, 
238;  try  to  keep  out  Europeans, 

234 
Bahera,  209 

Bahima  (or  Banyankole),  208;  allied 
to  Banyoro,  ib.;  clothing,  211; 
morality,  213 

Baislamu,  Mohammedans  called, 
109 

Bakedi,  help  Basoga,  246 ;  or  naked 
people,  228 

Bakene,  speak  Luganda,  226;  hut, 
building,  ib. 

Baker,  Sir  Samuel,  251 

Bangareza,  the  English  party,  109 

Bantu,  lake  dwellers,  223;  tribes  in 
Unyamwezi,  16;  tribes  on  Lake 
Victoria,  54 

Banyankole  (or  Bahima),  208 

Banyoro,  the,  203 ;  Bahima  allied  to, 
208;  clothing,  260;  food,  259; 
idea  of  spirit  world,  254;  land, 
Baganda  seize,  251;  morality, 
203,  256;  only  want  pasture  land, 
251;  people  of  Koki  related  to, 
219;  sanitary  arrangements,  259 

Barega,  the,  202 
—  country,    admission  refused, 
202 

Bargash,  Sayid,  1 

Bark-cloth,  99,  221;  cleansing,  221; 

for  clothing,   182;  fumigating, 

221 ;  in  Sango,  ib. 
Barter  goods,  4,  12 
Basese,  the,  60,  61,  63;  canoes,  62; 

fishermen,  63 
Basketry,  221 

Basoga,  at  Uganda  court,  246; 
dwellings,  247;  extract  three 
teeth,  ib. ;  indolence  of,  245 ;  seek 
help  from  Bateso,  246 ;  speak  Lu- 
ganda, 247 

Bateso,  a  Nilotic  tribe,  228;  at  war, 
232;  help  Basoga,  246;  huts, 
228;  land,  ib.;  religion,  ib.; 
youths,  teaching  of,  235 

Bavuma,  the,  60,  61;  markets,  248; 
Mutesa  and  the,  61 


Beer-drinking,  191;  gatherings  for, 
241 

Beer,  ends  council  meetings,  248; 
for  public  meetings,  184 

Beer-tubes,  241 

Behaviour  of  king's  pages,  118 

Bicycle  journey,  207 

Bicycling,  accidents,  218;  by  moon- 
light, 208 ;  in  Teso,  234 

Binns,  Archdeacon,  275 

Birth-rate,  169 

Bishop  of  East  Africa,  275 

Bitterness  of  political  hatred,  125 

Boundaries  of  Ankole,  208 

Bribing  prison  guards,  189 

Bride,  Wamegi,  22-23 

Bridges,  rope,  9;  Uganda,  78-79 

Bridging  rivers,  197 

Britain,  takes  over  Uganda,  124 

British,  drive  away  Nandi,  266;  Ka- 
barega  and,  251;  lack  of  arms  and 
ammunition,  175 

—  Government,  abolish  king's 
ownership,  209;  readjustment  of 
chieftainships  by,  194 

—  Mission,  teaching  at,  109 

—  officer,  Busoga  under,  245 
Brother,  duties  of,  144 
Budo  python  worship,  145 

Budu,  221;  iron  in,  ib.;  opened  up, 
133 

Building,  Bakene  hut,  226;  mater- 
ials, 194 
Buildings,  duration  of,  194 
Bukoba,  French  mission  station,  101 
Bukulu,  138 

Bunyoro,  agricultural  tribe  in,  250; 
Ankole  in  fear  of,  ib.;  cattle  in, 
203;  Christians  flee  to,  107;  go- 
vernment, 261 ;  iron-working 
learnt  from,  220;  king  of,  177; 
native  capital,  260;  old  kingdom 
of,  250;  people  of ,  203 ;  physical 
features,  258;  rebel  king  of,  176; 
roads,  260;  salt  in,  261;  state  in 
Busoga,  246;  Toro  a  part  of,  199 

—  kings,  tribes  pay  tribute  to, 
250 

Burglary,  190 

Burial,  Christian,  148;  of  Hanning- 
ton,  115;  of  human  sacrifices, 
148;  of  king,  252;  of  Mutesa,  106; 
of  women,  148;  royal,  149 

—  customs,  142,  148;  Ankole,  214; 
Baganda,  81;  Kavirondo,  263; 
Wamegi,  26 

—  grounds,  Baganda,  83,  84;  clan, 
148 

Busambiro,  Christians  flee  to,  107 
Bushiri,  the  Arab  chief,  39 


INDEX 


279 


Business  at  public  meetings,  184 
Busoga,  Baganda  chiefs  in,  245; 
Bunyoro  state  in,  246;  Christians 
flee  to,  107;  famine  in,  243; 
journey  from  Elgon  to,  242; 
plantations,  248 ;  releasing  ghost, 
264;  river  dwellers  came  from, 
226;  robber  from,  232;  state  of 
Christianity  in,  248;  taxation, 
246;  three  states,  245;  under 
British  officer,  ib. ;  under  Uganda, 
247;  women  refuse  to  cultivate 
land,  244 

Calico,  introduction  of,  221 
Camp  guard,  the,  15 
Camping  ground,  14 
Cannibal  Bageshu,  236 

—  custom  of  filing  teeth,  201 
Cannibalism,  ceremonial,  236 
Cannibals,  in  Semliki  Valley,  200 
Canoe,  aground  on  Lake  Victoria, 

68;  journey  by,  64;  v.  steamer, 
72 

Canoes,  248;  Basese,  62;  in  a  storm, 

66;  native,  62;  on  Kioga,  227 
Cape  Town,  2 

Capital,  of  Bunyoro,  native,  260; 

of  Uganda,  192 
Care,  of  fetishes,  146;  of  graves,  143 
Carrying  weapons  in  assembly,  211 
Cattle,  all  belong  to  king,  209;  and 
herdsmen,  216;  disease,  257,  266; 
guarding  the,  216;  in  Ankole, 
208;  in  Bunyoro,  203;  in  future 
life,  251;  -kraals,  216;  must  not 
be  sold,  212;  must  not  leave 
tribe,  ib.;  prospects  of  rearing, 
258;  transactions,  212;  Wamegi, 
18,  19;  wealth  estimated  by, 
251 

—  plague,  53  ;  and  the  Masai,  267 
Causes  of  famine,  244 

Caves  on  Elgon,  236;  use  of,  240 
Cemetery  at  Frere  Town,  274 
Central  Relief  Camp,  243 
Ceremonial  cannibalism,  236 
Ceremonies,  New  Moon,  186 
Cessation  of  cultivation,  170 
Change  from  polygamy  to  mono- 
gamy, 179 
Changes  in  Mombasa,  274 
Character  of  Mwanga,  115,  116 
Chief,  artisans  of,  193;  enclosure  of, 
192;  managers  of,  185;  repre- 
sentative of,  ib. ;  visits  his  estate, 
188;  waterway  of,  225 
Chiefs,  appointing,  212;  at  famine 
relief  camps,  243;  deposing,  212; 
duties  of,  91,  92;  dwellings  in  the 


country,  192;  execution  of  de- 
posed, 211;  neutral,  in  wars  of 
succession,  254;  power  of,  188, 
212;  work  of  native,  171 

Child,  born  without  limbs,  158;  third 
claimed  by  mother's  clan,  165 

Childless  widow,  215 

Children,  lake,  227;  of  the  clan,  164; 
of  Wamegi,  21 

Christian  burial,  148 

Christianity,  and  Luba,  249;  in 
Ankole,  209;  in  Busoga,  248 

Christians,  Baganda,  171;  dispersal 
of,  107;  flee  to  Busambiro, 
Ankole,  Busoga,  Bunyoro,  107; 
Mwanga's  promise  to,  109;  per- 
secution under  Mwanga,  106, 
114;  support  Mwanga,  109 

Church,  problems  before  the,  170 

Circumcision,  Kiwewa  refuses,  107 

Clan,  burial  grounds,  148;  children 
of  the,  164;  enmity,  241;  father 
of  the,  140;  members,  rights  of, 
162;  membership,  161,  162,  164; 
third  child  claimed  by  mother's, 
165;  women  join  husband's,  164 

—  gods,  135,  136,  139;  consulting, 
141;  offerings  to,  140,  141 

—  rules,  Bageshu,  238 

Clans,  king  and  prohibited,  167; 
origin  of,  162,  163 

Classification  of  gods,  135 

Cleanliness,  Baganda,  77-78 

Cleansing  bark-cloth,  221 

Climate  of  Nairobi,  269 

Climbing  Mau  escarpment,  272 

Clothing,  182;  and  morality,  183; 
Baganda,  77;  Bageshu,  237; 
Bahuma,  211;  Banyoro,  260; 
considered  indecent,  262;  intro- 
duction of,  182;  Kikuyu,  271; 
morality  of,  233;  of  agricultural 
tribes,  260;  Wamegi,  27 

Clove  plantations,  10 

Cocoa,  210,  267,  270 

Coffee,  210,  270 

Collecting  taxes,  245 

Communism,  164 

Consulting  clan  gods,  141 

Conversion,  of  Kabarega,  177;  of 
Kamswaga,  219 

Cook,  Dr  A.  R.,  173 

Cook,  Dr  J.  H.,  173 

Cooking  food  in  hot  springs,  201 

Cotton,  267,  270 

—  goods,   introduced   by  Arabs, 

—  growing,  in  Ankole,  210;  in  Teso, 
231 

Council,  Luba's,  247 


280 


INDEX 


Council  meetings,  beer  ends,  248 

Counting,  101 

Courage  of  Baganda,  171 

Court  of  dead  king,  151 

Courts,  royal,  211 

Cowry-shells,  as  currency,  193 

Creator,  136,  137 

Crocodiles,  65;  sacred,  155 

Crossing,  rivers,  8;  swamps,  196 

Cultivation,  cessation  of,  170; 
methods  of,  260;  not  allowed 
during  wars,  254 

Currency,  193;  Baganda,  97;  cowry- 
shells,  193 ;  glass  beads,  ib. ;  ivory 
discs,  ib.;  pearl  discs,  ib. 

Customs  of  early  Egypt  and  Uganda, 
82 

Danger,  from  wild  animals,  234;  of 
Missionaries  in  Budu,  112;  of 
rapid  change  from  old  customs, 
170 

Daudi  Chwa,   education  of,  177; 

king  of  Uganda,  ib. 
Dead,  worship  of,  263 

—  rats  and  plague,  158 
Dealing  with  natives,  mistakes  in, 

265 

Death,  of  Kalema,  122;  of  Kibuka, 
1 3  7 ;  of  the  king,  2 1 4 ;  of  Kiwewa, 
107;  of  Mutesa,  105;  of  G.  L. 
Pilkington,  176;  of  Queen  Vic- 
toria, 76;  of  Selim  Bey,  132; 
from  fear,  160 

Defeat,  of  Kabarega,  252;  of  Mo- 
hammedans, 109;  of  Moham- 
medan party,  131 

Deification,  of  god  of  plague,  158; 
of  kings,  139,  149 

Departure,  of  French  missionaries, 
129;  of  Sir  Gerald  Portal,  127 

Deposed  chiefs,  execution  of,  211 

Deposing  chiefs,  212 

Descent,  patrilineal,  161;  royal, 
167 

Deserting  porters,  7 

Difficulties,  of  native  labour,  181; 

surgical,  174 
Disarming,  rebel  troops,  130;  troops 

in  Entebe,  132 
Disease  and  tribal  intercourse,  266 
Dispensary,  the  Wellcome,  173 
Dispersal  of  Christians,  107 
Disposal    of   umbilical    cord  and 

placenta,  152 
District  Commissioner  on  Mt.  Elgon, 

235 

Division  of  land,  209;  in  Toro,  204 

—  of  the  year,  186 
Draining  swamps,  196 


Dress,  materials,  182;  of  a  prince, 

211 ;  women's,  213 
Dressing  skins,  the  art  of,  182 
Drum,  eating  a,  157;  fetishes,  156; 

to  announce  visitor,  187 
Drums,  156;  sacred,  ib. 
Dung,  fuel  of,  217 
Dung  heap,  grave  in  the,  214 
Duration  of  buildings,  194 
Duties,  of  a  brother,  144;  of  chiefs, 

93;   of  herdsman's  wife,  217; 

of  men,  170;  of  Prime  Minister, 

191 ;  of  a  second  wife,  165 
Dwellers,  on  Elgon,  240;  on  Lake 

Kioga,  227 
Dwellings  of  chiefs  in  the  country, 

192 

Ear-rings,  230 

Earthquake,  god  of,  144 

East  Africa,  bishop  of,  275 

Eating  a  drum,  157 

Education,   of  a  prince,   211;  of 

Daudi  Chwa,  177 
Egypt,  customs  of  Uganda  and,  82 
Elephants,  198-9 

Elgon,  caves  on,  236;  dwellers  on, 
240;  journey  to  Busoga  from, 
242 ;  Ormsby,  District  Commis- 
sioner, 235 ;  use  of  caves  on,  240 

Emblems  of  Mukasa,  138 

Emin  Pasha,  113;  troops  of,  199 

Engaging  porters,  4 

Enmity  between  Bageshu  clans,  241 

Equality  of  sexes,  239 

Escape  of  sacrificial  victims,  153, 

154.  155 
Etiquette  of  public  courts,  181 
European  rifles,  12 
Europeans,  Bageshu  try  to  keep  out, 

234 

Exchange  of  prisoners,  41 
Executioner,  155 
Executions  of  deposed  chiefs,  211 
Exile  kings  at  Seychelles,  176 
Exogamy,  163,  238 

Famine,  causes  of,  244;  districts, 
Baganda  in,  ib.;  in  Busoga,  243 
Fat  women,  203 

Father,  of  the  clan,  140;  totem,  162 
Fear,  death  from,  160;  of  magic, 

147,  159,  160;  of  mutilation,  254 
Feeding  royal  lion,  214 
Female  ghosts,  143 
Fertility  of  Uganda,  196 
Fetish,  Mbajwe  the  great,  145 
Fetishes,  134,  139,  145,  190;  care  of, 

146;  drum,  156;  makers  of,  139, 

146;  of  warriors,  145 


INDEX 


281 


Fighting,  between  Christian  and 
Mohammedan  Baganda,  131 

—  fires,  125 
Fines,  159 

Fire  in  the  kraal,  217 

Firearms  introduced  by  Arabs,  193 

Fire-sticks,  254 

Fires,  fighting,  125;  grass,  259;  in 

grass  houses,  125 ;  put  out  during 

wars,  254 
First-born,  of  Kamswaga  lives,  219; 

of  king  must  be  a  girl,  ib. 
First  steamer  for  Lake  Victoria, 

268 

Fishermen,  Basese,  63 

Fishing,  methods  of,  227 

Flight,  from  Mengo,  of  Mwanga,  116; 

of  Mwanga  to  Budu,  176 
Followed  by  lions,  208 
Food,  Banyoro,  259;  for  prisoner, 

189;     of    river-dwellers,  227; 

shortage  of,  112;  Wagogo,  44; 

Wamegi,  21 
Forms  of  clan  worship,  140 
Freeing  the  slaves,  126 
French,  and  English,  parties,  109; 

party,  in  Budu,  122;  priests,  rob 

mission  stores,  113 
—  missionaries,    101;  departure 

of,  129 

Frere  Town,  275;  cemetery  at,  274 
Fuel  of  dung,  217 
Fumigating  bark-cloth,  221 
Future  life,  215;  cattle  in,  251;  king 
in,  252;  king's  retinue  in,  253 

Gallic  origin  of  kings,  82 
Gatherings  for  beer-drinking,  241 
German  occupation,  16,  36 
Germans,  Arab  rising  against,  36; 

keep  ransom  money,  40 
Germany,  secret  treaty  with  Mwan- 
ga, no 

Ghost,  and  mutilation,  254;  of  a 
thief,  191;  pacification  of,  142; 
precautions  against  return  of,  1 54 

—  worship,  134,  237 
Ghostly  possession,  148 

—  punishment,  fear  of,  183 
Ghosts,  141,  144;  can  be  detained, 

263;  female,   143;  of  common 

people,    253;    releasing,  264; 

royal,  253 
Gifts  from  Luba,  249 
Girl,  king's  first-born  must  be  a,  219 
Girls,  High  School  for,  178 
Glass  beads  as  currency,  193 
Goats,  of  river-dwellers,  226;  use  of, 

25B 

God  of  earthquake,  144 


God  of  Lake  Victoria,  137 

—  of  plague,  157;  abode  of,  158; 
banished  to  Busoga,  ib.;  birth 
of,  157;  deification  of,  ib.;  form 
of,  ib.;  worship  of,  158 

—  of  plenty,  137 

—  of  rain,  144 

—  of  war,  137 

Gods,  clan,  135,  136,  139;  classifica- 
tion of,  135;  cause  sleeping  sick- 
ness, 257;  maids  of  the,  146; 
Musisi  father  of,  137;  national, 
135,  136,  139;  nature,  135,  144; 
on  earth,  137;  origin  of ,  135,  136, 
137,  138,  140 

Goods  train,  travelling  by,  273 

Gordon,  104 

Gospels  in  Teso  language,  228 
Government,   Baganda,   91;  Bun- 

yoro,  261;  headquarters  of,  268; 

move  to  Nairobi,  274;  native, 

181;  Wagogo,  43;  Wamegi,  23, 

28-29 
Grain  stores,  254 
Grass  fires,  259 

—  houses,  fires  in,  125 

Grave,  in  the  dung  heap,  214;  of 

king,  ib. 
Graves,  care  of,  143 
Guardians  of  a  woman,  164 
Guarding,    the    cattle,    216;  the 

harem,  165 
Gulu,  the  heavens,  137 

Hair  and  nail  clippings,  165 
Hairdresser,  168 

Hamitic  influence  on  Baganda,  80 
Hannington,  Bishop,  247;  burial  of, 

115;  murder  of,  114,  248;  Semler 

ordained  by,  276 
Hannington-Parker  Memorial 

Church,  275 
Harem,  guarding  the,  165 
Hats,  263 

Headquarters  of  Government,  268 
Hemp,  smoking  Indian,  249 
Herdsman,  and  his  favourite  cow, 

116;  wife  of,  her  duties,  217 
Herdsmen,  a  nd  cattle,  216 ;  and  lions, 

204;  pay  of,  217;  work  of,  ib. 
Hero  gods,  135-141 
Heroism  of  Maj.  Macdonald,  130 
Highwaymen,  49-50 
High  School  for  girls,  178 
Hippopotami,  198 
Home  life,  attempts  to  promote,  179 
Honour  not  paid  to  women,  254 
Hooper,  Mr  D.,  41 
Hospital,  native,  173 
Hospitality,  Baganda,  187;  change 


282 


INDEX 


in  custom  of,  188;  laws  of,  257; 

to  missionaries,  195 
Hot  springs,  Luenzori,  201,  203 
Houses,  Wagogo,  43 
Human  sacrifice,  26;  burial  of,  148; 

methods  of,  154,  156;  occasion 

of,  152,  153 
Hunters,  Wakamba,  271 
Huntley  and  Palmer,  royal  bakers, 

119 

Hut,  Bakene,  226 

Huts,  Baganda,  78;  Bageshu,  238; 
Basoga,  247;  Bateso,  228,  229; 
Kikuyu,  271;  native,  216;  of 
agricultural  people,  259;  of  papy- 
rus, 224;  of  pastoral  people,  258; 
on  lakes,  225;  on  rivers,  ib.; 
Unyamwezi,  16;  Usagara,  17 

Imperial  British  East  Africa  Coy., 
in  Uganda,  110;  bring  Sudanese 
troops,  113 
Imprisonment  in  Bagamoyo,  38-40 
Inaccessibility  of  the  king,  186 
Indecent,  clothing  considered,  262 
Indian  hemp,  smoking,  115,  249 
—  traders,  and  venereal  disease, 
169 

Indolence  of  Basoga,  245 
Industrial  school  for  women,  203 
Influence   of   Lubare   priests,  on 

Mwanga,  114,  115 
Inheritance  of  property,  165 
Initiation  ceremonies,  Bageshu,  237; 

Wamegi,:  24-25 
Intellectual  superiority  of  Masai,  31 
Introduction,  of  agriculture  in  Koki, 

219;  of  calico,  221;  of  clothing, 

182;  of  monogamy,  169 
Iron,  in  Koki,  220;  ore,  in  Budu,  221 
Iron  workers,  in  Koki,  220 
Iron  working,  learnt  from  Bunyoro, 

220 

Islamic  persecution,  107 
Ivory  discs,  as  currency,  193 
Ivory,  use  of,  98 

Jawbone  of  Mutesa,  106 
Jiggers,  129 

Journey,  by  canoe,  64;  from  Ankole 
through  Koki,  215;  from  Elgon 
to  Busoga,  242;  to  Ankole  by 
bicycle,  207;  to  Toro,  195;  to 
Uganda,  75 

Jungo,  138 

Kabaka,  167 

Kabarega,  rebel  king  of  Bunyoro, 
176;  and  the  British,  251;  at 
Seychelles,  252;  betrayed,  ib.; 


conversion   of,    177;  defeated, 

252;  raids  Uganda,  ib. 
Kabega,  little  princess,  168 
Kadulubare,  little  slave  of  the  gods, 

145,  168 

Kagwa,  Sir  Apolo,  the  Prime  Minis- 
ter, 172,  177 

Kakungulu,  Muganda  chief  in  Teso, 
234 

Kalema,  King,  107;  and  the  land, 

108;  death  of.  122 
Kalimera,  220 

Kamswaga,  conversion  of,  219;  his 

first-born  lives,  ib. 
Karagwe,  60,  62 

Kasagama,  King  of  Toro,  199;  his 

capital,  200 
Katikiro,  131 

Katonda,  the  Creator,  136,  137 
Kavirondo,    262;   burial  customs, 
263;  paint  themselves,  ib.;  rain- 
maker, ib.;  worship  of  dead,  ib. 
Kawonawo,  the  one  who  was  spared, 
155 

Khartoum,  Sudanese  troops  from, 
113 

Kibuka,  god  of  war,  137;  death  oi.ib. 

Kikuyu,  270;  artisans,  271 ;  clothing, 
ib.;  huts,  ib.;  semi-pastoral,  270 

Kilimanjaro,  discovery  of,  274 

Killing  thieves,  191 

Kimbugwe,  revival  of,  194 

King,  admitting  a  visitor  to,  187; 
and  prohibited  clans,  167;  deifi- 
cation of,  139, 149  ;  equal  to  gods, 
135;  Gallic  origin,  82;  has  to 
marry  subject,  210;  head  of 
religion,  186;  inaccessibility  of 
the,  ib. ;  in  future  life,  252 ;  must 
be  a  warrior,  250;  must  end  his 
life,  252;  must  not  be  ill,  ib.; 
never  dies,  149;  owns  all  cattle, 
209;  rebirth  of,  as  lion,  214 

—  god,  temple  of,  150 

—  of  Bunyoro,  177;  new,  252 
King's  attendants  in  court,  183; 

bodyguard,  184;  burial,  149; 
burial,  sacrifices  at,  252 ;  carriers, 
63,  89;  death,  214;  first-born 
must  be  a  girl,  219;  grave,  214; 
knowledge  of  his  kingdom,  184; 
life,  ending,  87,  88;  mother,  168; 
ownership  abolished  by  British 
Government,  209;  pages,  teach- 
ing of,  101;  Port,  63,  89;  relics, 
139;  retinue,  118;  retinue  in 
future  life,  253;  roads,  89;  rug, 
181;  seat,  182;  special  shrine, 
151;  sons  all  eligible  for  throne, 
168;  spirit  attendants,  149;  twin 


INDEX 


283 


at  New  Moon  ceremonies,  186; 
visit  to  temple,  152;  wife  be- 
comes leopard,  214;  wives,  167, 
168 

Kintu,  the  first  man,   137,  138; 

relics,  139 
Kioga,  Lake,  223;  canoes  on,  227; 

dwellers  on,  ib. 
Kirk,  Sir  John,  1 

Kiwewa,  deposed,  107;  position  of, 
128;  refuses  circumcision,  107; 
death  of,  ib. 

Koki,  agriculture  in,  219;  and  Ugan- 
da Church,  ib.;  iron  in,  220;  iron 
workers  in,  ib.;  journey  through, 
215;  Mohammedan  Baganda  in, 
216;  now  a  State  of  Uganda, 
218;  people  of,  related  to  Ban- 
yoro,  219 

—  Lake,  216 
Kraal  fire,  217 
Kraals,  216 

Krapf,  arrival  of,  274 

Labour,  difficulties  of  native,  181; 

pastoral  tribes  and,  256 
Lake  children,  227 

—  huts,  225,  227 

—  shrines,  227 

Land,  Baganda  distribution  of,  83; 
Baganda  seize  Banyoro,  251; 
Banyoro  only  want  pasture,  ib.; 
Bateso,  228;  division  in  Toro, 
204;  division  of,  209;  pastoral 
tribes  and,  250;  women  till  the, 
170 

Laws  of  hospitality,  257 

Learning  to  write,  180 

Leopard,  a  royal  totem,  167;  hunt, 

159;  king's  wife  becomes  a,  214 
Levirate  custom,  215 
Life,  in  the  future,  215;  of  settlers, 

269 

Lion,  a  royal  totem,  167;  feeding 
royal,  214;  rebirth  of  king  as,  ib. 

Lions,  and  herdsmen,  204;  followed 
by,  208;  priest  of  the,  214 

Lipstones,  230,  238 

Livingstone,  1,  13 

Loyal  natives,  130 

Luba,  247;  and  Christianity,  249; 
and  murder  of  Hannington,  248; 
his  council,  247;  his  country, 
243;  his  country  belonged  to 
Uganda,  246;  his  gifts,  249;  his 
wives,  247 

Lubare  priests,  and  missionaries, 
104,  106;  and  Mwanga,  114,  115 

Luenzori,  195;  hot  springs,  201; 
serfs  like  Bunyoro  serfs,  260 


Luganda,  Bakene  speak,  226;  Baso- 

ga  speak,  247 
Lugard,  Captain,  199 
Lunyoro,  spoken  in  Toro,  200 

Macdonald,  Major,  and  the  rebel- 
lious troops,  128,  130;  as  British 
representative,  127;  heroism  of, 
130;  in  Entebe,  132 

Mackay,  104,  107 

Magic,  fear  of,  147,  159,  160 

Magistrates,  188 

Maids  of  the  gods,  146 

Maize,  20 

Makers  of  fetishes,  139,  146 
Man,  origin  of,  136 
Managers,  chief's,  185 
March,  arranging  the,  7 
Markets,  248 

Marriage,  customs,  Wamegi,  21-23; 

forbidden    to    princesses,  168; 

laws,  Baganda,  80,  94,  95;  of 

king,  210;  of  temple  widows,  150; 

restrictions,  161,  162 
Masai,  34;  and  cattle  plague,  267; 

become  docile,  ib.;  intellectual 

superiority ,  3 1 ;  raiders,  30-31; 

troops  guard  railway,  267 

—  country,  settlers  in,  267 
Mat-making,  133 
Materials  for  dress,  182 

Mau  escarpment,  272;  climbing,  ib. 
Mayanja,  the,  197 
Mbagwe,  the  great  fetish,  145 
Mbarara,  capital  of  Ankole,  215 
Mboga,  brother  of  Mutesa,  127 
Meaning  of  Mirembe,  108 
Medicine-men,  146;  Wamegi,  26 
Mediums,  136,  140;  royal,  151 
Memory  of  natives,  188 
Men's  duties,  170 

Mental  qualities  and  courage  of 
Baganda,  171 

Meteoric  stone,  138,  140 

Methods,  of  cultivation,  260;  of 
fishing,  227;  of  human  sacrifice, 
I54-I56;  of  robbery,  249;  of 
selecting  human  sacrifices,  153; 
of  thieves,  190 

Military  service,  193 

Milk,  and  vegetable  food,  212;  diet, 
ib.;  taboos,  255;  tradition,  163 

—  customs,  219,  255;  and  agri- 
culture, 210;  Wamegi,  18 

Millet,  20,  205,  244,  260;  planting, 

260;  porridge  from,  235 
Mirambo,  king  of  Unyamwezi,  58 
Mirembe,  meaning  of,  108 
Mission  Schools,  275 
Missionaries,  and  Lubare  priests,  1 04 , 


284 


INDEX 


106;  and  Mwanga,  104,  106;  ar- 
rival in  Uganda,  101,  102;  attend 
wounded,  n  1 ;  French,  in  Ugan- 
da, 101;  in  Budu,  112;  Stanley's 
appeal  for,  1  o  1 ;  work  by  night,  104 
Missionary,  murder  of  a,  36 
Mistakes  in  dealing  with  natives,  265 
Mohammedan  Baganda,  in  Koki, 

216;  join  the  Sudanese,  127 
Mohammedans,  defeat  of,  109 
Mombasa,   268;   changes  in,  274; 
fort,  9;  native  town,  275 ;  railway 
from,  124 
Monogamy,  change  to,  179;  intro- 
duction of,  169;  results  of,  169 
Moon,  the,  186 

Morality,  among  Bahuma,  213; 
among  Banyoro,  203, 256;  among 
Wagogo,  43;  among  Wahumba, 
30;  among  Wamegi,  29;  and 
clothes,  183,  233;  in  different 
tribes,  233;  standards  of,  183 

Mortality,  reducing  infant,  169 

Mosquitoes,  220,  226 

Mother,  king's,  168;  totem  of,  162 

Mount  Kenia,  270 

Mountain  of  the  Moon,  195 

Mpologoma  River,  223 

Mugwanya,  122 

Mukasa,  the  god  of  the  Lake,  67; 

emblems  of,  138;  temples  of,  ib. 
Murder,  of  a  missionary,   36;  of 

Hannington,  114;  of  Hanning- 

ton,  Luba  and,  248 
Murderer  made  taboo,  264 
Music,  native,  55 

Musisi,  father  of  gods,  137;  god  of 
plenty,  ib. 

Mutesa,  king  of  Uganda,  58;  and  the 
Arab  trader,  102;  and  the  Ba- 
vuma,  61;  and  missionaries,  101, 
102,  103;  and  soldier  chiefs,  90; 
and  traders,  63;  burial  of,  106; 
death  of,  105;  jawbone  of,  ib.; 
jealousy  of,  103 

Mutilation,  147,  166,  174;  and  the 
ghost,  254;  fear  of,  ib. 

Mwanga,  and  the  Bible,  114;  and 
the  biscuits,  119;  and  Hanning- 
ton, 247 ;  and  mission  stores,  113; 
and  missionaries,  104,  106;  and 
the  hostile  parties,  106;  as  a 
pupil,  115;  character  of,  115, 
116;  Christians  persecuted  under, 
106,  114;  Christians  support, 
109;  deported  to  Seychelles,  116; 
flees  from  Arabs,  107;  flees  to 
Bukoba,  109;  flight  from  Mengo, 
116;  flight  to  Budu,  176;  his 
guard  of  wives,  166;  his  promises 


to  Christians,  ioq;  in  Budu, 
111;  influence  of  Lubare  priests, 
114,  115;  invites  I.B.E.A.  Co. 
into  Uganda,  no;  plain  talk  to, 
114;  return  of ,  109,  113;  Roman 
Catholic  influence  on,  109;  second 
flight  of,  in;  secret  treaty  with 
Germany,  no;  sons  of,  177; 
weakness  of,  105,  106 

Nail  and  hair  clippings,  165 
Nairobi,  268;  climate,  ib.;  Govern- 
ment move  to,  274 
Nalinya,  the  widowed  queen,  150 
Nandi,  driven  away  by  British,  266 
Nasaza,  hairdresser,  168 
National  gods,  135,  136,  139 
Native  buildings,  sanitary  condi- 
tions, 194 

—  capital  of  Bunyoro,  260 

—  government,  181 

—  huts,  216 

—  Mombasa,  275 

—  music,  55 

—  schools,  178 

Natives,  mistakes  in  dealing  with, 

265;  training  of,  257 
Nature  gods,  135,  144;  wives  of  the, 

144 

Neglect  of  plantains,  244 
New  king  of  Bunyoro,  252 

—  Moon  ceremonies,  186 
Nikodemu  Sebwato,  112,  132 
Nilotic  Bateso,  228 

—  Kavirondo,  262 

—  tribe,  223 

—  tribes,  34;  on  Victoria,  265 
Nomination  for  offices,  181 
Nubian  influence  among  Baganda, 

79 

Occasion  of  human  sacrifice,  152, 1 53 
Offerings  to  clan  gods,  140,  141 
Offices,  nomination  for,  181 
Open  house  kept  by  Prime  Minister, 
187 

Oracle,  preparation  of,  151 

Ordeal,  trial  by,  120 

Origin,  of  clans,  162,  163;  of  gods, 
135,  136,  137,  138,  140;  of  man, 
136;  of  totems,  163 

Ormsby,  D.  C.  on  Elgon,  235 

Ornaments,  230;  Wagogo,  45;  Wa- 
megi, 27 

Outlet  for  smoke,  226 

Oxen,  riding,  262 

Pacification  of  ghost,  142 

Pacifying  a  tribe,  175 

Paint  themselves,  Kavirondo,  263 


INDEX 


285 


Papyrus,   223,   224;   bridge,  197; 

home  of  the,  196;  huts,  224 
Pastoral  country,  215 

—  customs,  in  Toro,  200 

—  people,  huts  of,  258 

—  tribes,  ancestry  of,  139;  and 
agriculture,  257;  and  labour, 
256;  and  land,  250 

Pasture,  Banyoro  only  want  land 

for,  257 
Paths,  spiking,  202 
Patrilineal  descent,  161 
Pay  of  herdsmen,  217 
Paying  porters,  4 
Peace,  season  of,  241 
Pearl  discs  as  currency,  193 
Peasants  betray  Kabarega,  252 
Pemba.  Island,  10 
Penalty  for  a  sneeze,  182 
Perpetuation  of  temple  offices,  1 50 
Perseverance  of  missionaries,  103 
Physical  features,  of  Ankole,  209; 

of  Bunyoro,  258;  of  Teso,  230; 

of  Uganda,  78 
Pigmies,  202 ;  as  warriors,  202 
Pilkington,  death  of,  176 
Plague,  dead  rats  and,  158;  god  of, 

157 

Plain  talk  to  Mwanga,  114 
Plantains,  neglect  of,  244 
Plantations,  clove,  10 ;  inBusoga,  248 
Planting  millet,  260 
Plenty,  god  of,  137 
Poisoned  arrows,  202,  271 
Politeness,  Baganda,  69 
Political  dissensions,  no 

—  hatred,  125 
Polyandry,  203,  212,  256 
Polygamy,  212 
Porridge  from  millet,  205 

Portal,  Sir  Gerald,  arrival  of,  124; 
departure  of,  127 

Porters,  Baganda,  195;  deserting,  7; 
engaging,  4;  of  Wanyamwezi 
and  Wasakuma,  54;  paying,  4; 
Swahili,  6,  9,  37,  48,  129;  taken 
for  troops  in  Kavirondo,  175 

Position  of  Kiwewa,  128 

Power  of  chiefs,  188,  212 

Precautions  against  return  of  ghost, 
154 

Preparation  of  an  oracle,  151 
Priest  of  the  lions,  214 
Priests,  135 

Prime  Minister,  duties  of,  191 ;  keeps 

open  house,  187 
Prince,  education  of  a,  211;  dress 

of,  ib. 

Princes, fight  for  throne,  254 ;  become 
pythons,  214;  of  Ankole,  210 


Princess,  queen  must  be  a,  167 

Princesses,  Baganda,  85,  86;  for- 
bidden to  marry,  168;  murdered 
by  Arabs,  108 

Prison  guards,  bribing,  189 

Prisoners,  exchange  of,  41 

Problem  before  the  church,  170 

Products  of  Uganda,  270 

Progress  under  Sir  Apolo  Kagwa, 
172 

Promise,  Africa  a  land  of,  276 
Property,  inheritance  of,  165 
Prospects  of  cattle-rearing,  258 
Prosperity  in  Uganda,  123 
Protecting  houses  against  robbers, 
249 

Protection  against  thieves,  190 
Protestants  in  the  French  party,  109 
Public  courts,  etiquette  of,  181 

—  meetings,  181;  absence  from, 
185;  beer  for,  184;  business  at, 
ib. ;  value  of,  ib. 

Punishment,  fear  of  ghostly,  183; 
for  adultery,  166,  189;  for  look- 
ing at  a  chief's  wife,  166;  of 
quarrelsome  wife,  213 

Punishments,  189 

Purchasing  a  wife,  212 

Python  worship,  145 

Pythons,  princes  become,  214 

Quality  of  salt,  261 
Quarrelsome  wife,  punishment  of  a, 
213 

Queen  must  be  a  princess,  167 

—  Victoria,  death  of,  76 
Queen's  residence,  167 

Rabai,  Redman  at,  274 
Raiders,  from  Abyssinia,  240;  Masai, 
30-31 

Raids  on  Uganda,  252 
Railroad,  the,  266 
Railway  from  Mombasa,  124 
Rain,  god  of,  144 

Rain-maker,  Kavirondo,  263 ;  treat- 
ment of  unsuccessful,  239 

Rain-making,  228,  239;  Uganda, 
136;  Wamegi,  26 

Rains,  the,  186 

Ransom  money  kept  by  Germans,  40 
Readjustment  of  chieftainships  by 

British  Government,  194 
Rebels,  disarming,  130;  in  S.  Ugan- 
da, 176 
Rebirth  of  king  as  lion,  214 
Recall  of  I.B.E.A.  officers,  123 
Redman  at  Rabai,  274 
Reducing  infant  mortality,  169 
Regents  for  young  king,  177 


286 


INDEX 


Reincarnation,  143;  belief  in,  81 
Relationships,  161,  162 
Releasing  ghosts,  264 
Relics,  of  kings,  139;  of  Kintu,  ib. 
Religion,  Baganda,  134;  Bateso,  228 ; 

king  the  head  of,  186 
Religious  ceremonies,  134 

—  festivals,  138 

Removal,  of  Mboga,  132;  of  Selim 

Bey,  132 
Removing  evil  from  the  king,  1 56 
Representative  appointed  by  a  chief, 

185 

Residence,  queen's,  167 

Results  of  enforced  monogamy,  169 

Return,  of  Islamic  Baganda,  122; 

of  Mwanga,  113;  of  Selim  Bey  to 

Entebe,  131 
Revival  of  Kimbugwe,  194 
Rhetorical  power  of  natives,  188 
Riding  oxen,  262 
Right  of  appeal,  189 
Rights,  of  clan  members,  162;  of 

peasants,  181 
Rings  in  chest,  230 
Ripon  Falls,  59-60 
Rising  of  Sudanese,  174 
River  crossings,  8 

—  dwellers,  came  from  Busoga, 
226;  food  of,  227;  goats  of,  226 

—  huts,  225 
Rivers,  bridging,  197 
Road-making  as  taxation,  193 
Roads,  193;  Bunyoro,  260;  Uganda, 

78-79 

Robbers,  methods  of,  249 ;  protecting 

houses  against,  ib. 
Robbery,  231 

Roman  Catholic  influence  on  Mwan- 
ga, 109 
Rope-bridges,  9 
Royal  brewers,  184 

—  burial  ceremony,  149 

—  courts  in  Ankole,  211 

—  descent,  167 

—  enclosure,  Baganda,  88 

—  Engineers  enter  Uganda,  124 

—  family  of  Toro,  200 

—  ghosts,  253 

—  marriage,  210 

—  mediums,  151 

—  spears,  184 

—  succession,  Baganda,  84,  85 

—  totemic  animals,  182 

—  totems,  167 

—  visit,  118 
Rubber,  267,  270 

—  growing  in  Ankole,  210;  in  Teso, 
231 

Rug,  the  king's,  182 


Sacred  crocodiles,  155 

—  drums,  156 

—  plantains,  152 

Sacrifices,  at  king's  burial,  252;  oc- 
casion of  human,  152,  153 
Sacrificial  wine,  154 
Sadaani,  5 

Salt,  209 ;  a  luxury,  1 1 7 ;  in  Bunyoro, 

261 ;  quality  of,  ib. 
Salt-making,  201,  261 
Sandals,  182 
Sango,  bark-cloth,  221 
Sanitary  arrangements  among  Ban- 

yoro,  259 

—  conditions  of  native  buildings, 
194 

—  improvements,  132 
Sanitation,  Baganda,  78;  Unyam- 

wezi,  16 

Scarcity  of  English  provisions,  117 
Schools,  mission,  275;  native.  178 
Season  of  peace,  241 
Seasons,  Usagara,  20 
Seat  of  the  king,  182 
Second  flight  of  Mwanga,  111 
Secret  treaty  between  Mwanga  and 

Germany,  no 
Selim  Bey,  127,  131;  death  of,  132; 
removal  of,  ib.;  returns  to  En- 
tebe, 131 ;  threatened  attack  by, 
ib. 

Selling  cattle  and  milk  prohibited, 

213 

Sembera  Mackay,  murder  of,  in 
Sender,  Rev.  I.,  276 
Semliki,  west  side,  206 

—  river,  206 

—  valley,  cannibals  in,  200 ;  tribes 
in,  202 

Serfs  in  Bunyoro  like  Luenzori,  260 

Service,  military,  193 

Settlers,  life  of,  269;  in  Masai 
country,  267 

Sewing  done  by  men,  178 

Sexes,  equality  of,  239 

Seychelles,  Kabarega  at,  252 ;  Mwan- 
ga at,  116;  rebel  kings  at,  176 

Shortage,  of  food,  112;  of  women  on 
the  land,  181 

Shrine,  king's,  151 

Shrines,  on  Lake  Kioga,  227 

Silasi  Mugwanya,  177 

Sites  in  native  capital,  192 

Skins,  the  art  of  dressing,  182 

Slaves,  9,  95;  Baganda,  93;  chains 
for,  12;  the  taming  stick,  13; 
freeing,  126;  treatment  of  freed, 
ib. 

Slave-market,  Zanzibar,  9 

—  markets,  10 


INDEX 


287 


Slave  raiders,  11,  12 

—  ships,  10 

—  trader,  12,  13 

—  traders,  Arab,  9 

Sleeping  sickness,  73 ;  due  to  anger 
of  gods,  257,  266;  introduced  by 
Stanley's  followers,  266 

Slings  for  stone-throwing,  248 

Smallpox,  156,  266 

Smoke,  outlet  for,  226 

Smoking  Indian  hemp,  249 

Sneeze,  penalty  for  a,  182 

Soap-making,  133 

Social  benefits  of  totemism,  164 

—  order,  Baganda,  77 
Sons  of  Mwanga,  177 
Spears,  royal,  184 
Spectacles,  263 
Spiking  paths,  202 
Spirit,  water,  197 

—  world,  Banyoro  idea  of,  254 
Standards  of  morality,  183 
Stanley's  appeal  for  missionaries, 

101;    followers  bring  sleeping 
sickness,  266;  maxim  gun,  129 
State  labour,  244 

—  of  Christianity,  in  Busoga,  248 ; 
of  country  during  war,  255 

States  of  Busoga,  245 
Steamer  for  Lake  Victoria,  268 
Steere,  Bishop,  10 
Stocks,  189 

Stone-throwing,  slings  for,  248 
Stores,  Bageshu,  238;  for  grain,  254 
Stranded  on  shore  of  Lake  Victoria, 

Succession,  wars  of,  254 

Sud  of  the  Nile,  196 

Sudanese,  Baganda  losses  against, 

175;  rising,  127;  second  rising, 

174 

—  troops,  113;  from  Khartoum, 
ib.;  on  Lake  Albert,  199 

Suicide  of  widows,  215 
Suna  and  trade  restrictions,  63 
Surgery,  147 
Surgical  difficulties,  174 
Survey  for  railway  from  Mombasa, 
124 

Swahili  escort,  37 

—  porter,  6,  9,  37,  48 

—  porters,  129;  and  the  Masai, 
34-35 ;  and  the  Wagogo,  48 

Swamps,  crossing,  196;  draining,  ib. 

Taboo  of  murderer,  264 
Taboos,  milk,  255 

Taxation,  Baganda,  93;  Busoga, 
246;  of  agricultural  tribes,  250; 
road-making  as,  193 


Taxes,  collecting,  245;  on  travellers 

in  Ugogo,  47-48 
Tea  not  sufficiently  tried,  270 
Teaching,  at  English  mission,  109; 

Bateso  youths,  235 ;  the  Wamegi, 

29,  32 

Teeth,  Basoga  extract  three,  247; 

cannibal  custom  of  filing,  201 
Telegraph  wires,  266 
Temple  funds,  151 

—  of  King  god,  150 

—  offices,  perpetuation  of,  150 

—  widows,  marriage  of,  150 
Temples,  135;  of  Mukasa,  138 
Terrible  journey,  a,  37-38 

Teso,  Baganda  chiefs  in,  231,  234; 
bicycling  in,  234;  cotton  growing 
in,  231;  physical  features,  230; 
rubber  growing  in,  231 

—  language,  gospels  in,  228 
Thank-offerings,  149,  155 
Thief  from  Busoga,  232 

Thieves,  killing  of,  191;  methods  of, 

190;  protection  against,  ib. 
Threatened  attack  by  Selim  Bey,  131 
Threats  of  Sudanese  rising,  127,  128 
Throne,  king's  sons  all  eligible,  168; 

princes  fight  for,  254 
Times'  correspondent,  129 
Tongue  rings,  230 

Toro,  a  part  of  Bunyoro,  199;  abori- 
gines, 200,  205 ;  agricultural  clans, 
204;  animals,  ib.;  capital,  200; 
division  of  land,  204;  journey 
to,  195;  pastoral  customs,  200; 
royal  family,  ib. 

—  language,  200 

Totem,  of  mother,  162;  of  father,  ib. 
Totemic  animals,  royal,  182 

—  rules,  Baganda,  80 
Totemism,  162;  social  benefits  of, 

164 

Totems,  origin  of,  163;  royal,  167 
Traders,  Mutesa  and,  63;  Suna  and, 

ib. 

Training  natives,  257 
Transactions  with  cattle,  212 
Travelling  by  goods  train,  273 
Treatment,  of  freed  slaves,  126;  of 

unsuccessful  rain-maker,  239 
Trial  by  ordeal,  120 
Trials,  188 

Tribal  disputes,  Wamegi,  28 

—  intercourse  and  disease,  266 
Tribe,  cattle  must  not  leave,  212 
Tribes,  in  Semliki  Valley,  202;  pay 

tribute  to  Bunyoro  kings,  250 
Tribute  from  tribes  to  Bunyoro 

kings,  250 
Troops,  Masai,  267 


288 


INDEX 


Twin,  king's,  at  New  Moon  cere- 
monies, 1 86;  of  royalty,  152 

Uganda,  69 ;  arrival  of  missionaries, 
101,  102;  Britain  takes  over,  124; 
Busoga  under,  247;  fertility  of, 
196;  journey  from  the  coast,  75; 
Kabarega  raids,  252;  Luba's 
country  belonged  to,  246 ;  native 
capital,  192;  native  hospital, 
173;  physical  features,  78;  pro- 
ducts of,  270;  railway,  14,  75-76; 
rain-making,  136;  roads  and 
bridges,  78,  79;  R.E.  in,  124 

—  Church,  and  Koki,  219 

—  court,  Basoga  at,  246 

Ugogo,  plains,  42,  50-53;  taxes  on 

travellers,  47-48 
Unyamwezi,  16;  Bantu  tribes,  ib.; 

huts,  ib.;  sanitation,  ib. 
Usagara,  17;  seasons,  20 
Use  of  goats,  258 

Value  of  public  meetings,  184 
Vegetable  food  and  milk,  212 
Venereal  disease,  169;  Indian  traders 
and,  ib. 

Victoria  Nyanza,  55,  74;  Bantu 
tribes  on,  54;  discovery  of,  274; 
first  steamer  for,  268;  god  of, 
137;  islands,  57;  Nilotic  tribes 
on,  265;  storms,  57,  70-72; 
stranded  on  shore  of,  175 

Victorious  prince  buries  king,  254 

Villages,  Wakamba,  271 

Volcanoes,  extinct,  202 

Wagogo,  43;  appearance,  46;  food, 

44;  Government,  43;  nouses,  ib.; 

morality,   ib.;   ornaments,  45; 

Swahili  porters  and,  48 
Wahumba,  30;  morality,  ib. 
Wakamba,  30,  271 ;  agriculture,  272; 

hunters,  271;  villages,  ib. 
Walker,  104 

Wamegi,  18-30;  agriculture,  19; 
burial  customs,  26;  cattle,  18, 19; 
children,  21;  clothing,  27;  food, 
21;  Government,  23,  28-29;  ini- 
tiation, 24-25 ;  marriage  customs, 
21-23;  medicine-men,  26;  milk- 
customs,  18;  morality,  29;  rain- 
making,  26;  teaching  the,  29, 
32;  tribal  disputes,  28;  women's 
work,  25 

Wanyamwezi,  54 

War,  agriculture  during,  108;  Ba- 
ganda  love  of,  105;  Bateso  at, 


232;  between  French  and  Eng- 
lish, in;  god  of,  137;  state  of 
country  during,  255 
Warrior,  king  must  be  a,  250 
Warriors,  fetishes  of,  145;  pigmies 
as,  202 

Wars,  cultivation  not  allowed  during, 
254;  fires  put  out  during,  ib.)  of 
succession,  ib. 

Wasakuma,  54 

Watuturu,  55;  wells,  52 

Water  spirit,  197-8 

Waterway  of  chief,  225 

Wealth  estimated  by  cattle,  251 

Weapons  in  assembly,  211 

Wellcome  dispensary,  173 

White  ants,  1 5 

Widow,  childless,  215 

Widows,  suicide  of,  215 

Wife,  duties  of  a  second,  165;  of 
herdsman,  duties  of,  217;  punish- 
ment for  looking  at  chief's,  166; 
punishment  of  a  quarrelsome, 
213;  purchasing  a,  212;  waits  at 
meals,  188 

Wild  animals,  danger  from,  234 

WTilliams,  Captain,  R.A.,  123 

Wine,  sacrificial,  154 

Wives,  as  guardians,  183;  king's, 
167,  168;  Mwanga's  guard  of, 
166;  of  Luba,  247;  of  the  nature 
gods,  144 

Woman,  the  food  provider,  169; 
guardians  of  a,  164 

Women,  ability  of  native,  180; 
burial  of,  148;  cannot  walk  far, 
213;  dress  of,  ib.;  industrial 
school  for,  203;  in  Bunyoro,  ib.; 
join  husband's  clan,  164;  receive 
no  honour,  254;  refuse  to  culti- 
vate land,  244;  resting,  213; 
rulers,  17;  till  the  land,  170; 
work  of  pastoral,  256;  work  of 
Wamegi,  25 

Work,  of  agricultural  tribes,  257  ;  of 
herdsmen,  217;  of  native  chiefs, 
171;  of  pastoral  women,  256 

Worship,  forms  of  clan,  140 ;  of  dead, 
228;  of  dead,  Kavirondo,  263; 
of  god  of  plague,  158 

Writing  unknown,  188 

Year,  division  of  the,  186 

Zakiriya  Kisingire,  177 

Zanzibar,  3;  Cathedral,  10;  slave 

market,  9 
Ziba  country,  215 


CAMBRIDGE:  PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  PEACE,  M.A.,  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


DATE  DUE 




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GAYLORD 

|    PRINTED  IN  U  S  A. 

DT425.R79 

Twenty-five  years  in  East  Africa, 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


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